WATCH: Putin Scolds Intel Chief For Saying The Quiet Part About Ukraine Out Loud

Russia’s chief intelligence officer said Monday that he backed a move to recognize Russian separatists in two regions of Ukraine as a pretense for invasion.

In a televised meeting on Monday, Russian Director of Foreign Intelligence Sergey Naryshkin expressed support for a suggestion to label “Donetsk and Luhansk people’s republics to make them part of the Russian federation.” The intel chief’s comments, which Putin immediately made Naryshkin walk back, come as fears grow that Putin is attempting to create a pretense to send troops into Ukrainian territory.

During the exchange, Putin pressed Naryshkin to make a specific recommendation on how Russia should proceed in the situation with Ukraine. Naryshkin began by stepping lightly around the issue before recommending that Putin should move forward with a plan to recognize two Russia-led breakout regions of Ukraine before absorbing those regions into Russia. The exchange went as follows:

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