> While it’s tempting for many to explain it all as “Putin is behind every decision in Russia and eveyone is a puppet”, this is a more serious situation. It is

> While it’s tempting for many to explain it all as “Putin is behind every decision in Russia and eveyone is a puppet”, this is a more serious situation. It is not just tempting; it is factually correct. Putin manufactured the separatist movement in eastern Ukraine as a justification for his invasion. It is astroturfed, not a grassroots issue. It's also easy to see places with true separatist movements (Ireland or Spain, for example) that aren't propped up by neighboring dictators. So Putin could have (and should have) ignored any Ukrainian separatists.