MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin has convened top officials to consider recognizing the independence of separatist regions in eastern Ukraine. Such a move would ratchet up tensions with the West amid fears that the Kremlin could launch an invasion of Ukraine imminently. The meeting Monday of the presidential Security Council comes amid a spike in skirmishes in eastern Ukraine that Western powers believe Russia could use as a pretext for an attack. With an estimated 150,000 Russian troops massed on three sides of Ukraine, the U.S. has warned that Moscow has already decided to invade. Still, the American and Russian presidents tentatively agreed to meet in a last-ditch effort to avoid war.
Putin mulls recognizing separatist eastern Ukrainian regions
