Is war more likely after Russia recognised Donetsk and Luhansk?

Russian President Putin signs documents, including a decree recognising two Russian-backed breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine as independent entities, during a ceremony in Moscow in this picture released February 21 [Sputnik/Alexey Nikolsky/Kremlin via Reuters]

Kyiv, Ukraine – A Russian lawmaker let slip Russia’s possible pretext for a full-scale war with Ukraine.

Just hours after Moscow recognised the “independence” of the breakaway Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, a top parliamentarian in charge of affairs with ex-Soviet republics said that the borders of the Moscow-backed statelets should be “restored.”