This is extremely good news for anyone worried about international peace and stability.
Russia has decided to cut power (literally, and possibly figuratively) from pro-Russian rebels in the Ukraine.
Yes, that's from the pro-Russian forces in Ukraine. Not the pro-democracy government in Ukraine but the splinter groups that Putin was previously helping and lying about in an almost comically obvious fashion.
Lately though, Putin has been losing interest in forming the second Soviet state.
Kiev (AFP) - Kiev said Tuesday that Russia had cut off electricity to Ukraine's rebel-run regions in what appears to be another sign that Moscow is losing interest in plans to splinter its neighbour.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has gone through an extended spell without peppering his speeches with mentions of a "New Russia" (Novorossiya) made up of Ukrainian lands that were once under tsarist control.
What is causing this change of heart? The US-led sanctions? International condemnation.
Russia's severe economic troubles coupled with the expense of funding a war?
People who have been enduring this horrible war in the Ukraine are understandably cautious about hoping that peace is finally taking hold in the region. Still, recent news looks hopeful.
Let's hope that this is no illusion but a reality and that Russia has stopped its useless, horrible, bloodthirsty actions in Ukraine.
UPDATE: Thanks for the rec list. Understandably a lot of people are doubtful about the veracity of this news. It could simply be a Kiev plot to try to demoralize Russian rebels. Certainly the only news agencies that are reporting this story, besides Yahoo, are fringe news agencies and they are all attributing this story to Kiev, not independent outlets.
Kiev has been a source of good and true information many times. Kiev has been frightened of Russia long before the rest of the world was aware of how dangerous Putin is. Kiev is even now warning of a Russian invasion of Northern Ukraine, an assertion that is backed up by multiple governments - including the US- who have access to satellite imagery that shows strong Russian military build-up along the border.
On the other hand Kiev definitely has an interest in wanting to pull out the rug from pro-Russian separatists. Certainly the big news outlets are not picking up the story, but that may be because it's a high volume news cycle ("Chinese stock market is crashing! Donald Trump said something stupid!") or it may be that the sources of the story are weak. I honestly cannot say.
Still, there are signs that Putin is losing interest in trying to hold Ukraine while officially denying that he is indeed invading the country. The Russian economy is weak and cannot really sustain another war or hold another territory. Oil prices are still low. Russian citizens are beginning to inquire about how (and where) exactly their military children are dying. The soldier selfie scandal was embarrassing. International condemnation is increasing. And, while Putin-supported news agencies are showing sky-high approval ratings, opinion on the street may be a little different in reality. People were shocked by the Putin backed assassination of Boris Nemtsov.
So this is a story to watch. I know little of the details, of course, but I thought it was worthy enough to post on Dailykos.