Russian President Vladimir Putin has instructed the Defense Ministry to deploy Russian “peacekeeping forces” in the two breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine, whose independence it recognized by decree earlier in the day.
In his presidential decree, Putin recognized the self-proclaimed “People’s Republics” of Donetsk and Luhansk as independent entities, defying Western warnings that such a move would be illegal and mark the end of the long-running peace process in the region.
In his speech, Putin argued that the crisis was a pretext for the rapid deployment of NATO troops in Ukraine. He even stressed that Ukraine’s accession to NATO is a direct threat to Russia’s security.
In a lengthy sermon accompanied by a long historical retrospective on the Russian side of things, Vladimir Putin announced that he recognized the independence of Donetsk and Luhansk, while raising the alarm in the West.
The Kremlin says President Putin has decided to recognize the independence of two breakaway regions of Ukraine, the “Donetsk People’s Republic” and the “Luhansk People’s Republic”, which are controlled by Russian-backed separatists. TV sermon and the Russian people.
The Kremlin statement said Putin had informed French and German leaders that he intended to sign a decree recognizing the Donetsk and Luhansk regions as independent states.
French President Emanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Soltz have expressed disappointment with the decision.
In the wake of this news, Emanuel Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky convened a National Security Council. Other European leaders, in turn, have spoken out against the announcement.
The diagram
Russian President Vladimir Putin began his speech on eastern Ukraine by saying that the situation in the region is critical again.
“Modern Ukraine is a creation of Russia, the Bolsheviks and the Communists, after the revolution of 1917. For the millions of people living in Ukraine, no one asked them anything. “The victory of the ‘red’ army gave territories to Ukraine that belonged to Germany and Poland,” Putin said at the beginning of the sermon.
He then gave a historical overview of the Soviet Union and these territories, saying: “At the beginning of the establishment of the Soviet Union, the Bolsheviks started a new state and Stalin and subsequent leaders built the Soviet Union on the principle of of nations. That was part of the constitution of the Soviet Union. “
“Why make so many concessions to those who were on the borders of the tsarist empire, who were given huge lands that did not belong to them?” he wondered, adding that “Soviet state records confirm that Lenin handed over Donbass to the jurisdiction of Ukraine.”
At the same time, addressing the Ukrainian leaders, he said: “Do you want to secede? “Well, we are very happy with that.”
“The Soviet republics have every right to exercise the status of autonomy and sovereignty, and any provision of any Soviet republic could give nationality to its citizens,” he stressed.
“Two years before the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Republics claimed their independence and this led to the collapse of historic Russia. Russia was in a difficult position then, it could not claim its rights. When they asked us for help, Russia supported Ukraine and respected its national independence. We have given about 250 billion in loans to Ukraine. “We also took on her debt to the IMF,” he added.
“The Soviet Republics should have renounced Soviet assets, but Kiev did not ratify the agreement, nor did it implement it. He kept all Soviet assets to himself. Russia nevertheless continued to assert all rights and agreements with Ukraine. Remember the blackmail of the Ukrainian authorities when they tried to steal gas from Russia. From the first steps, then, they claimed their autonomy, denying everything that united us. “Ukraine’s radicals have been trying to usurp the West to hold on to the loot.”
“Ukraine is a divided country,” he said, referring to Ukraine. It lost its industrial and research potential. These went into the hands of those who exploited it. Thus we had the collapse of the Ukrainian Republic, not only from the West, but also from a network of foreign advisers who have settled in Ukraine and infiltrated the government. They believe that with the support of the West they will be able to confront Russia. We have also recently heard statements that he would like to develop nuclear weapons. It is only a matter of time before they make such weapons and threaten Russia, because it has a long history. They will destabilize Europe and the world. They want to increase the number of NATO troops in Ukraine, even though Article 17 of its constitution prohibits the deployment of foreign troops. “International law states that a country cannot enhance its security to the detriment of a neighboring country.”
“NATO has set conditions for Ukraine to join if it complies with the rules and fights corruption. The US had said that there would be no NATO expansion to the East. Eastern and Central European countries are bringing their fear complexes of Russia into NATO. “Russia has fulfilled all its obligations,” he added.
Putin also referred for the first time to a conversation he had with Clinton in 2000. The Russian president asked why they were being pressured, and Clinton replied that they did not want to see such a large independent country like Russia next to Europe. “Western countries do not keep their word.”
“The main issue is the proposals and guarantees made by Russia for the security of all. They want to impose sanctions on us, without any excuse, and to harm our national integrity and interests. “When we have no satisfactory response from the United States, we must act and we will do it.”
“As far as Donbass is concerned, Kiev has repeatedly shown that it does not want to implement the Minsk ceasefire agreement. They want to make an instant war, which will have many victims. Every day they bomb settlements in Donbas. The so-called civilized world and the western partners, how can they tolerate this happening. “All this because the Russians did not want to support the 2014 coup. They are violating basic human rights in Donbas.”
“I think I have to make a decision that I should have made a long time ago. I will recognize the independence of Donetsk and Luhansk and we will sign an agreement of mutual friendship and cooperation. Those in power in Kiev must stop their actions immediately, otherwise there will be a continuation of the violence. “I am convinced that I have the support of all the people of Russia,” he said.
Follow Skai.gr on Google News
and be the first to know all the news
