NEWSRAEL: The big question today is NOT if Russia will send troops into the "separatist" regions, but if he will continue and invade Ukraine itself.

*** What do you think will happen? Add your opinions below in the Comments Section ***

Russian leader Vladimir Putin said in an extensive speech on Monday that he “plans to sign a decree recognizing the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR),” two Russian separatist regions in Eastern Ukraine’s Donbass territory, the Kremlin press service reported.

Putin revealed the development during phone calls on February 21 with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron meant to diffuse recent political tension between Russia and Ukraine. Putin relayed to Scholz and Macron the results of a meeting earlier on Monday of the Russian Security Council, which “focused on the current situation around Donbass in the context of the Russian lower parliament house’s resolution on the recognition of the Donbass republics,” according to TASS, a Russian state-owned news agency.

Donetsk and Luhansk collectively form Ukraine’s southeast Donbas region, where war between the Ukrainian state and the Russian proxies has been ongoing since 2014. Russia also invaded and colonized Ukraine’s Crimea region that year and remains illegally present there.

“Russian state television showed video of the Russian-backed leaders of separatist territories in eastern Ukraine appealing directly to Mr. Putin to recognize their independence [earlier on February 21],” the New York Times reported. “Russia’s lower house of Parliament passed a resolution making such an appeal to Mr. Putin last week.”