MOSCOW — The Kremlin was advised to annex Crimea and a large swath of southeastern Ukraine weeks before the Ukrainian government fell, a Russian newspaper reported on Wednesday, citing what it said was a memo that was presumably presented to the presidential administration.
Russia has long contended that it acted without premeditation in Crimea, was only seeking to protect Russian speakers who it said were under threat of attack, and to stave off what it suspected was an attempt by NATO to move its forces into the region.
[…] a report in Novaya Gazeta, one of the few independent voices still publishing …read more
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
