One, very widespread at this point, interpretation of Putin's otherwise slightly mysterious move.
Members of the pro-Kremlin youth group Anti-Maidan protested outside the Moscow bureaus of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Voice of America today. The protesters held signs in shape of cookies with slogans such as "Cookies Flavored With Lies," in reference to U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland's visit to the Maidan protests in Kyiv, at which she reportedly handed out cookies. The Anti-Maidan group claims the United States was behind the mass demonstrations that toppled the Ukrainian government one year ago. Video from our Russian Service:
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An OSCE official has warned against "further escalation of the conflict" in eastern Ukraine despite encouraging signs of a cease-fire taking hold between government troops and pro-Russian separatists.
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) special representative Heidi Tagliavini told the UN Security Council on February 27 that "we seem to be at the crossroads" of war and peace in Ukraine.
She said fighting was subsiding, prisoners had been released, and the withdrawal of heavy weapons had begun.
But she added that the situation remained volatile.
Ertugrul Apakan, head of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine, reported some firing around the Donetsk airport and the southeastern port city of Mariupol.
The council was holding its first meeting since it endorsed a cease-fire agreement that was reached in Minsk on February 12.
Ukraine's military said earlier on February 27 that three soldiers had been killed and seven others wounded in the past 24 hours, following two days of no fatalities.
Based on reporting by AFP and AP