Russian president Vladimir Putin is not actually "blinking" just yet, the Daily Beast national security correspondent Eli Lake told CNN Wednesday.
While Putin claimed to be pulling back thousands of his troops in the name of diplomacy and stopping the escalating violence in southeastern Ukraine, the Pentagon said it's seen no sign of any such overtures.
"Until we see some of those troops actually move, I don't think we can call it a blink yet," Lake said. "I think it's probably safer to say that it's a pause, and there is, I think, not only significant international diplomatic opposition but the Ukrainian military is trying its best to restore order at this point. I think he realizes that you can't just have a referendum in the middle of a conflict like that ... It seems like he is still very much interested in carving out as much of Ukraine as he desires."
Lake reported that there are also pro-Russian separatists who are not obeying that directive from Putin.
Lake wrote Wednesday on lessons Ukraine could take from Georgia, who also dealt with a stealth invasion in 2008 and whose defense minister gave Lake an interview on methods of countering Russian sabotage and provocation operations.