KHARKIV, Ukraine — Russian President Vladimir Putin called together his top security officials Monday to discuss whether to recognize the independence of two eastern Ukrainian enclaves under the control of Russian-backed separatists — a move that would further inflame tensions already close to a breaking point.
The pro-Moscow leaders of Donetsk and Luhansk appealed to Putin ahead of the meeting to recognize their enclaves as independent republics and requested Russian military assistance in their fight against Ukrainian forces. Putin said the objective of his conference with his security council was to “listen to colleagues and decide on our next steps in this area.”
The Russian leader has previously accused the Ukrainian government of pursuing “genocide” in Donetsk and Luhansk, the vast majority of whose populations are ethnic Russians. The U.S. and NATO have accused Moscow of planning so-called false flag operations in the area to justify an all-out invasion of Ukraine.
