Vladimir Putin is wily, they say; he’s steps ahead of naive Western counterparts, ruthless at wielding his power for maximum advantage. And sure enough, there was the former KGB colonel Monday signing a piece of paper that Russia has recognized two breakaway Ukrainian regions, Donetsk and Luhansk, as independent — a move widely seen as a precursor for an invasion of his neighbor, a democratic nation of 44 million people. Not long after the announcement, very well-armed “peacekeepers” (right) arrived on the scene. Call us rubes, but we don’t see how on earth a Russian military occupation of Ukr…