In a sign of clear mistrust, European leaders called off a planned summit with Mr Putin in Astana. The West has continued to press Mr Putin to stop supplying arms to the rebels before engaging in further talks about the make-up of Ukraine. Indeed, on December 29th Mr Poroshenko signed a law scrapping Ukraine's neutral status. Ukraine has not, so far, recognised Donetsk and Luhansk or abandoned its NATO aspirations. The rebels refused to lay down their arms, and Ukraine's president, Petro Poroshenko, would not admit defeat. Mr Putin's goal of creating a separatist zone within Ukraine seemed within reach. America was cut out of discussions between Russia, Ukraine and Europe. Its trade agreement with the European Union was put on ice and the Ukrainian parliament passed a law granting broad autonomy to the parts of the Donbas controlled by the separatists. The latest violence in Ukraine is, in many ways, a sign of Mr Putin's desperation.įive months ago, Russian troops moved in to stop the Ukrainian army clearing out rebels in the Donbas region. The rebels are advancing and Mr Putin has called the Ukrainian Army a NATO foreign legion.Īt the same time, he is building up his defences at home by mobilising paramilitary brigades to fight potential Maidan-style protests. In Ukraine, he has shattered a fragile ceasefire, along with last September's Minsk peace deal. After several months of relative quiet in Ukraine and at home, he has raised the stakes.
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