Factbox-Ukraine Crisis - Where will Putin stop?

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a ceremony to sign documents, including a decree recognising two Russian-backed breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine as independent entities, with leaders of the self-proclaimed republics Leonid Pasechnik and Denis Pushilin seen in the background, in Moscow, Russia, in this picture released February 21, 2022. Sputnik/Alexey Nikolsky/Kremlin via REUTERS

LONDON (Reuters) - Now that Russian President Vladimir Putin has recognised the independence of separatist enclaves in eastern Ukraine and ordered in "peacekeeping" troops, the big question is: where will he stop?

Western countries have been warning for weeks that Moscow may be preparing for a possible all-out massed invasion to conquer its neighbour. Russia denies this, and Putin's moves so far have stopped well short of such a scenario.