During a meeting of the Russian Security Council on Monday, the head of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, Sergei Naryshkin, appeared to hesitate in an exchange with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the matter of incorporating recognizing the separatist-led regions of Luhansk and Donetsk in eastern Ukraine into the Russian Federation. After footage of the meeting aired, Russian state television broadcast an address to the nation by Putin, who then signed decrees recognizing the independence of the two statelets.