© KEYSTONE/AP/Alexei Nikolsky
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday ordered his army to enter separatist territories in eastern Ukraine, after recognizing their independence. This decision increases the risk of war with Kiev.
The two decrees of the Russian President recognizing the “people’s republics” of Donetsk and Lugansk ask the Russian Ministry of Defense that “the armed forces of Russia [assument, ndlr] peacekeeping functions” in these regions. No deployment schedule or scale has been specified.
Russia has for weeks massed tens of thousands of troops on the borders of Ukraine, which the West says are ready to invade their neighbor.
In a long televised address, in which he revealed moments of anger, Mr. Putin said he “immediately recognized the independence of the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Lugansk People’s Republic”, then signed the treaties in the wake of of “friendship and mutual aid” with them.
End of the peace process
The Russian president also called on Ukraine to immediately cease “its military operations” against the separatists or to assume “responsibility for the continued bloodshed”.
These decisions mark the end of a peace process under Franco-German mediation which, although regularly violated, had made it possible to stop the most violent clashes of this conflict, having killed more than 14,000 people since its outbreak in 2014. , after the annexation of Crimea by Moscow.
The United States, the European Union, like NATO and London, denounced the decision of the Russian president and mentioned sanctions. US President Joe Biden reaffirmed in a call on Monday to his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky “the commitment of the United States” to respect “the territorial integrity of Ukraine”, according to the White House. The Russian recognition of the separatists deserves a “firm” and “quick” response, said the head of the American diplomacy Antony Blinken.
French President Emmanuel Macron has called for “targeted European sanctions” and “an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council”.
Speaking in a tweet of a flagrant violation of international law, the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs called on Moscow to respect its international commitments and reverse its actions.
New sanctions
Washington immediately announced sanctions against the separatist regions. The European Union will take sanctions targeting both Russian entities and individuals, “proportionate” with Vladimir Putin’s announcements. “The list is being drawn up,” added Paris, adding that the examination of these sanctions in Brussels would begin on Tuesday.
Putin’s decision comes at the end of a crazy day, which saw Moscow multiply the accusations against Ukraine, such as the destruction of a border post by Ukrainian artillery or the infiltration of a team of “saboteurs”, five of whom were reportedly killed. Kiev has denied these claims outright. For Westerners, they are part of Moscow’s efforts to create a pretext for military intervention.
OSCE observers recorded in 48 hours more than 3200 new violations of the truce supposed to be in force in eastern Ukraine.
In his long televised address, Mr. Putin also reiterated his unfounded accusations of “genocide”, which, for observers, aim to support Moscow’s discourse on the need to “protect” Russian speakers in Ukraine.
In a professorial tone, he insisted on giving a history lesson revisited by the Kremlin, presenting Ukraine as an artificial country inseparable from Russia.
“It’s war, the real one”
Until the end, the Europeans tried, in vain, to dissuade Mr. Putin from recognizing the independence of the separatists. Mr. Macron had taken the lead in European efforts to try to defuse the Ukrainian crisis and on Sunday evening, the French presidency announced that it had extracted a promise of a summit between MM. Biden and Putin, but the Kremlin dashed those hopes on Monday.
Tensions, which have been growing steadily in recent months, have been worsening for three days with the resurgence of clashes in eastern Ukraine between forces from Kiev and the separatists. On Monday, Kiev reported two Ukrainian soldiers and a civilian killed. The rebels counted three civilians who died in shelling over the past 24 hours.
Russia assured Monday that at least 61,000 people had been “evacuated” from separatist areas to its territory.
“It’s the real war,” said Tatiana Nikoulina, 64, who is one of those people transported from the Donetsk region to the Russian city of Taganrog. “They couldn’t find a compromise and that’s why this is all going on.”