Russia-Ukraine crisis: Lots of military trucks moving around, no idea how big the Russian presence is, says Washington Post reporter on ground

Russian President Vladimir Putin sparked global tensions on Monday when he signed a decree recognizing the sovereignty of breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine. Donetsk and Luhansk have been under control of Russia backed separatists since 2014. Since then more than 14000 people have been killed in fighting between Ukraine army and Moscow supported separatists there.

Their independence is not recognized by Ukraine or the international community. Efforts to resolve the conflict, as per the 2015 MINSK agreements have not yielded results. So after weeks of tensions and amassing troops when Russian President declared these breakaway regions to be independent, it alarmed western countries that Russia was establishing grounds for an invasion.

Mary Ilyushina, Foreign Correspondent at The Washington Post, who is reporting from the ground, said in an interview with CNBC-TV18 that there still no clarity on Russia's intentions, despite Putin claiming that he ordered the troops into these breakaway regions for "peace-keeping" purposes.

"So far, a lot of military trucks have been moving around," she said, adding that the "peace keeping" troops are already added to Russian military presence in Ukraine. "We don't know how big the

She said there is a risk that this could become a full-fledged invasion and that they were watching diplomatic moves.

Russia's escalation comes despite efforts being made for a diplomatic dialogue and is being condemned worldwide. Ukraine said it will consider breaking off relations with its neighbour accusing it of trying to revive the USSR. Ukraine also urged western allies to impose tough sanctions on Russia, which has demanded that Ukraine and other ex-Soviet status not be allowed into NATO.