Putin Askle News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Next thing that's going to happen is there's going to be nato troops on the board of western ukraine and putin's troops will flood into eastern ukraine, then all bets are off. >> go ahead. >> obviously putin has hiss mission and he clearly does see himself in the way that professor cohen just outlined. obviously there's been a major sort of argument over ukraine, but putin and the russians have by treaty their big black sea fleet in sevastopol in the crimea. there's no indication that the new ukrainian government was going to change that reality at all. you say that putin has telegraphed what ...

A divide developing between president obama and chancellor merkel. >> that's the big problem. there's a meeting of the eu on thursday, a nato meeting and thus far no appetite by the german chancellor even though she despises putin and is making strong statements about the violation of ukrainian sovereignty, they're not about to go along with sanctions with real teeth. 40% of their natural gas in germany and half of their energy is from natural gas comes through the pipeline from russia. it is a terrible vice that the russians have on the germans. there's going to be real face-off among the all...

Russia. whether it's libya or syria or iran or ukraine, he sees western actions as uniquely attempting to undermine russian power. >> reporter: but putin could also be feeling emboldened in ukraine. >> mr. putin basically thinks that president obama and the americans and the europeans are kind of wimps. and that he can roll them when he sees fit. >> reporter: between that bravado and the alleged fear how far vladimir putin will take all of this. will he be the ruthless commander who pushes this further into ukraine and ignites a war or will he park his forces in crimea and stay there? wolf? >>...

I want you to read the lead story in "the new york times" today. chancellor angela merkel told mr. obama by telephone on sunday that after speaking with mr. putin she was not sure he was in touch with reality. people briefed on the call said in another world, she said. is she right? >> i don't know if it's an accurate report. but remember she said that about president george bush in 2010 when bush tried to fasttrack ukraine into nato and she stopped it. what i do know is this -- putin doesn't trust obama, doesn't think he's a resolute leader, doesn't think he can negotiate with him definitivel...

He could be. >> reporter: others believe putin is very much in touch with the reality he sees, the upheaval in ukraine. >> putin wants to restore the russian empire, which ukraine is the crowned jewel. >> reporter: and crimea is the shining core of that crowned jewel, a region crucial, analysts say, for two reasons. to putin's goal of uniting the people once under soviet's control and for access to the black sea. what also drives the former kgb colonel is an open resentment of the way the cold war ended. >> he said in 2005 is the fall of the soviet union. >> reporter: analysts say he sees amer...