US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken called the decision of Russian President Vladimir Putin to recognize the independence of the “People’s Republics” of Donetsk and Lugansk in Ukraine shameful and expected.
Blinken, after a telephone conversation with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmitry Kuleba, said that Moscow recognized the “independence” of the so-called democracies controlled by its own people.
“We condemn them in the strongest possible terms and stand by Ukraine, as I said tonight to Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba,” Blinken wrote on Twitter.
In two executive decrees he signed after his televised address, the Russian president recognized the independence of the “People’s Republics” of Danieck and Luhansk and ordered the Defense Ministry to deploy troops to take on a “peaceful” role.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky denounced in a special speech a violation of “national sovereignty and territorial integrity” and said he and his country were not afraid.
“Ukraine considers Russia’s latest actions a violation of the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of our state,” Zelensky said, adding that the Ukrainians are “on their territory”, “not afraid of anything or anyone” and will not cede. “Not a shred of the country’s land” to anyone.
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