The Patriot Post® · Putin Pauses

Vladimir Putin has been strangely silent in recent days as Ukraine’s military successfully pushes back against Russian-backed and inspired separatists in eastern Ukraine. Separatists have been cornered in Donetsk and are pleading with Moscow for aid. So far, those cries have been met with silence. According to The Wall Street Journal, “[Putin’s] choice boils down to coming to the aid of the separatists, keeping Ukraine off-balance and bolstering his nationalist credentials at home, or consolidating his gains so far – chiefly Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula, which Russia annexed in March – and averting the threat of tougher Western sanctions that could do major damage to the Russian economy, as well the risk of further international isolation.” It’s too soon to say Putin has given up, however. As one senior U.S. official put it, “There is only one person who knows what Putin is planning and that is Putin.” More…