Crimea remains occupied, but after the harsh warning received during the European night by American President Barack Obama ("Russia is on the wrong side of history") Vladimir Putin somewhat surprisingly ordered the return to their respective bpermanent shelters to Russian forces engaged in military exercisestari, which began on 26 February in the western and central regions of the Russian Federation.
This was announced by the spokesman of the Cremlino, Dmitry Peskov, according to whom the relative instructions were imparted by the president, as supreme commander in chief, after having been informed of the positive outcome of the manoeuvres. In any case, tension remains very high (even if the financial markets breathe a small sigh of relief this morning), so much so that while the EU is preparing to discuss possible sanctions against Russia (the EU Council was convened on Thursday), the United States itself has decided to freeze all forms of military cooperation with Russia "in the light of recent events in Ukraine".
The Pentagon specified that the suspension regards, among other things, "the exercises, the bilateral meetings, the visits to the ports and the planning of the conferences". Not only that: the Washington administration has also blocked all talks on bilateral trade and investment with Moscow, as announced by the Foreign Trade Office.
