'Total nonsense': Kyiv locals react to Putin

Kyiv residents on Monday evening said that eastern breakaway regions were part of Ukraine despite Russian President Vladimir Putin's formal recognition of two territories as independent. READ MORE: str.sg/wmmr
Russian state television on Monday showed Putin, joined by Russia-backed separatist leaders, signing a decree recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions along with agreements on cooperation and friendship.
Sitting on a bench on Maidan square in Kyiv, 19-year-old student Mykyta watched the Russian president on a live stream on his phone.
"Diplomacy is over," Mykyta said, adding that the Russian move would bring an end to the Minsk process - a set of agreements designed to end a separatist war by Russian speakers in eastern Ukraine.
Yuliya, a 19-year-old Russian-speaking waitress, said Putin's declaration was "total nonsense."
Putin's recognition of the rebel-held areas could pave the way for Moscow to send military forces into the regions and argue that it is intervening as an ally to protect them against Ukraine.
VIDEO: REUTERS
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