Comment by wazoox

Putin is currently playing out the same game as he did in 2008 in Georgia. Abkhazia and South Ossetia aren't formerly part of Russia; their existence merely guarantee that Georgia cannot be part of NATO. That's the plan: preventing forever Ukraine from being part of NATO. That's been the constant demand or Russia since Gorbachev, Yeltsin, etc. So the pseudo-republics of Donetsk and Luhansk will remain forever, just for this purpose.