Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized the independence of Donetsk and Luhansk, two regions of Ukraine controlled since 2014 by pro-Russian groups.
After a long televised speech on Monday, Putin signed the decree in which this recognition is reflected and asked the Russian Parliament to give it its approval as soon as possible.
The Kremlin had advanced this decision in a statement released shortly before, indicating that Putin had informed the leaders of France and Germany of his intention to sign a decree granting this recognition.
This decision, according to analysts, severely aggravates the existing crisis between Russia and the West over Ukraine, where it is feared that a major war could occur.
Putin signed the decree in which the recognition is reflected and asked that the Russian Parliament give its approval as soon as possible.
Russia has deployed more than 150,000 troops to the borders with Ukraine, while the United States and its European and NATO allies have been offering material and diplomatic support to Kiev in the face of what they have called an “imminent threat” to its territorial integrity.
The West fears that the recognition of the independence of Donetsk and Luhansk will serve as a pretext for Russia to invade both territories, with the excuse of defending the Russophone population. Moscow has issued thousands of Russian passports to residents of both areas.
“Threat to the security of Russia”
Putin announced his decision at the end of a televised speech that lasted almost an hour, in which he went back to the creation of the Soviet Union (USSR) to argue his decision.
In his speech, the Russian president said that “Ukraine had never had a true tradition as a state” and that modern Ukraine had been “created” by Russia.
In this sense, he criticized the founding leader of the Soviet Union, Vladimir Lenin, whom he accused of having placed Russia in a disadvantageous situation and affirmed that Moscow had been “robbed” during the disintegration of the USSR.
The Russian president questioned the possibility of Ukraine joining NATO, assuring that doing so would serve as “a direct threat to Russia’s security.”
“I consider it necessary to make a decision that has long fallen under its own weight: to immediately recognize the independence and sovereignty of the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic,” Putin said at the end of his speech.
“Flagrant violation”
Putin’s decision was promptly condemned by the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
“The recognition of the two separatist territories in Ukraine constitutes a flagrant violation of international law, the territorial integrity of Ukraine and the Minsk agreements,” he said, referring to the peace agreements related to the situation in eastern Ukraine.
“The EU and its partners will react with unity, firmness and determination in solidarity with Ukraine,” he added.
Hours earlier, the head of European Union diplomacy, Josep Borrell, had warned that if Russia recognizes Donetsk and Luhansk as independent states of Ukraine, it will propose to the EU leaders the possibility of applying new sanctions against Moscow.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also harshly criticized Putin’s decision.
“This further weakens Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, erodes efforts to reach a resolution to the conflict and violates the Minsk agreements, to which Russia is a party,” the official said, reiterating his accusations that Moscow seeks a pretext to invade Ukraine.
Donetsk and Luhansk have been under the control of pro-Russian groups since 2014, when separatist militias clashed with the Ukrainian government.
Pro-Russian groups have controlled Donetsk and Luhansk since 2014.
Since then, despite a ceasefire agreement signed in 2015, there have been frequent outbreaks of violence between these groups and Ukrainian forces in that area.
This conflict has caused the death of some 14,000 people, according to figures from the NGO International Crisis Group.
International organizations monitoring this situation have reported a “dramatic increase” in attacks along the line separating Ukrainian forces from rebel groups.
Last Saturday, in fact, two Ukrainian soldiers died and four others were wounded, during bombardments in the area. These are the first deaths reported in several weeks.
