![Russia and Ukraine](/content/images/size/w720/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/2022-02-21T162931Z_1_LYNXMPEI1K0PU_RTROPTP_4_UKRAINE-CRISIS-REBELS-SHELLING-scaled.jpg)
Putin officially recognizes 2 Russian-backed separatist regions in Ukraine
The backstory:
* Russia invaded and annexed Crimea and eastern Ukraine (a former Soviet state) back in 2014, which caused it to be kicked out of the international military alliance, The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
* Today, there are an estimated 100,000 troops at the Russian-Ukrainian border, worrying people that