After Russian President Vladimir Putin said he will recognize the breakaway Ukrainian Donetsk and Lugansk regions as independent, he ordered Russian military troops into the area on late Monday. According to a decree issued by the Kremlin and signed by Putin, the Russian Defense Ministry is now authorized to send troops into the Donbas area in eastern Ukraine to “maintain peace.” He also told the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to establish diplomatic relations with both Donetsk and Lugansk, reported Russian state-run media. Earlier on Monday, Putin gave a lengthy televised speech from his office in which he claimed Ukraine is an integral part of Russia’s history. The Soviet Union under Vladimir Lenin created the modern Ukrainian state and separated it from Russia, he further said, while adding that he believes Ukraine is seeking to create nuclear weapons that will threaten Moscow. “Ukraine has never had traditions of its own statehood,” the …