A top White House official on Tuesday repeatedly claimed Russia is mounting an invasion of Ukraine by ordering troops in the separatist regions of Lugansk and Donetsk. “We think this is, yes, the beginning of an invasion, Russia’s latest invasion into Ukraine,” deputy national security adviser Jon Finer told CNN in reference to Russian troops moving into the Donbas area in eastern Ukraine. Hours earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he would recognize the two regions as separate countries before signing a decree authorizing troops to be sent to the area for peacekeeping purposes. “I think ‘latest’ is important here,” Finer added. “An invasion is an invasion, and that is what is underway. But Russia has been invading Ukraine since 2014” when Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula. Despite Finer’s rhetoric, other U.S. and some Western officials have declined to describe Russia’s maneuvers as an invasion. “Russia has occupied these regions …