In a truly jaw-dropping, hour-long speech from the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin called into question the foundation of the post–Cold War settlement in Europe.
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- He questioned the legitimacy of Ukraine and its right to exist.
- He called the idea of an independent Ukraine “madness.”
- He accused Kyiv of fomenting all the violence and instability that we have seen to date.
- He accused Ukraine of plotting to arm itself with nuclear weapons.
- He accused Ukraine of threatening to invade Russia.
- He suggested that NATO and the United States were planning on using Ukraine as a base by which to attack Russia.
- He suggested that Moscow still fundamentally controls the sovereignty of all the former Soviet states.
Putin then signed documents — in violation of international law — recognizing the breakaway Ukrainian provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk as the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics.
The post–Cold War era of relative stability, peace, and prosperity in Europe totters on the brink.
Update: 4:37 p.m.
Reuters was first to report that Putin has ordered the Russian military to enter the separatist regions of Ukraine in a “peacekeeping” operation.