People in the Ukrainian separatist region of Donetsk wave Russian national flags to celebrate late Monday after Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized it as well as fellow breakway region Luhansk as independent states; a woman stages an anti-U.S. picket outside the Russian State Duma building in Moscow on Tuesday and a carnival float in Cologne, Germany, on Tuesday depicts Putin playing with building blocks. Western allies levied significant response Tuesday as world leaders denounced Putin's actions in eastern Ukraine. As the Kremlin laid the groundwork to roll troops into the two breakaway regions, Germany announced it was preparing to bring the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to a grinding halt. Putin had ordered troops Monday to "maintain peace" in Donetsk and Luhansk shortly after recognizing the Russian-backed areas as independent, stoking fears that a Russian invasion could be coming soon. Tap the link in bio to read more. #ukraine #russia #nordstream2 📸 @apnews, @afpphoto