The Kremlin’s rhetoric has changed from supporting Novorossia, a new Russia that would include all of southeastern Ukraine, to calling for the separatist-controlled areas to reintegrate into Ukraine. A Moscow Times piece speculates that Russia, which can ill afford more lives lost and added sanctions, has reached a stalemate with the West in the Ukraine crisis. The commentary suggests that the West, led by the U.S. State Department, has struck a deal in which it will remain silent on Russia’s annexation of Crimea if the Kremlin orders the separatist areas to reintegrate into Ukraine.