The cease-fire agreement between Ukraine and Russian-backed separatists who hold territory in eastern Ukraine marks a clear victory for Russian President Vladimir Putin. It weakens the Kiev government's control over the region and blocks Ukraine's hopes of economic and military union with the West.
By backing a rebel counteroffensive that forced Kiev to seek a truce, Putin appears to be achieving a goal he previously reached in other former Soviet republics: establishing autonomous, pro-Russian regions that frustrate efforts by those countries to join the European Union and NATO — steps Putin views as threats to his homeland .... http://www.usatoday.com
