Just read an article suggesting that it was the Russian communist party who proposed granting independence for the two breakaway regions of east Ukraine, and said communist party has close links with the Chinese communist party. It went on to suggest that China may have knowingly given Putin the green light for his little adventure into Ukraine, a place where "hell awaits whether he moves further forwards, or whether he tries to retreat".
In Japanese, by a professor at Ritsumeikan University.
https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/58...16b4576735dbb6