Putin’s intention is to annex parts of Ukraine

WATCH: Concordia University’s Kyle Matthews talks about the situation in the Ukraine on Global Montreal

Since former Ukrainian leader Victor Yanukovych’s regime was toppled earlier this week, it has now become crystal clear that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s silence was not a sign of indifference. If anything, it gives real meaning to the expression that “actions speak louder than words.”

While official statements coming out of Moscow have proclaimed the Russian government will respect Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial unity, numerous developments point to a well-planned out counter-strategy is being implemented in real time across the Crimean peninsula where Russia’s Black Sea fleet is located.

In the last few days armed men loyal to Russia have taken control of the Crimean parliament, taking down the Ukrainian flag and replacing it with a Russian one. The leader of the parliament was forced from power and quickly replaced by a pro-Russia leader. The first order of business was to agree to hold an independence referendum on 25 May. Two airports were then taken over by armed men as well, although it is now reported that the Kyiv has reasserted control over these strategic transport hubs earlier today.

To make matters worse, Putin also ordered the Russian military to conduct war games near the border with Ukraine, with 150,000 troops put on alert for combat readiness. At the same time Yanukovych, who had been in hiding since he was deposed in an uprising, magically appeared in Russia and declared that he is still Ukraine’s president.

What is Russia’s real intention? Perhaps looking at recent developments in the Republic of Georgia, once part of the Soviet Union, can reveal Putin’s grand strategy. In 2008, Moscow invaded Georgian territory under the narrative that it had to do so to protect “Russian citizens” in South Ossetia, a breakaway region that, under international law, was still part of Georgia. Before this unilateral military intervention, Moscow had been issuing “passports” to the residents of South Ossetia illegally. Russia’s intervention quickly pushed out the Georgian military in a humiliating defeat. Soon after Moscow more or less annexed South Ossetia, as well as Georgia’s contested Abkhazia.

Are we about to see history repeat itself? Just today a group of Russian legislators have tabled draft legislation that would give Moscow domestic legal backing to annex parts of Ukraine and accelerate the current process of giving Russian citizenship to foreigners living outside of Russia. The crisis in Ukraine is far from over.