the russian president Vladimir Putin ordered this monday his army enter the separatist territories in eastern Ukraine after recognizing its independence, defying sanctions threats from the West in a move that could spark a war with Kiev.
Two decrees of the Russian president ask the Ministry of Defense that “the armed forces of Russia (assume) peacekeeping functions on the territory” of the “people’s republics” of Donetsk and Lugansk.
No timetable for the deployment or its magnitude was announced in the documents, each one page long and posted on the website of the Russian legal texts database.
Russia has been deploying for two weeks tens of thousands of soldiers on Ukraine’s borders, which, according to Western countries, are ready to invade the neighbor.
“I consider it necessary to make this long-overdue decision: to immediately recognize the independence of the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Lugansk People’s Republic,” Putin said in a televised address.
In addition, he demanded that Ukraine immediately cease “military operations, otherwise all responsibility for further bloodshed will fall on the conscience of the regime on Ukrainian territory.”
The president then signed “friendship and mutual aid” agreements with the territories.
This decision puts an end to the unstable peace process mediated by France and Germany, which provided for the return of the territories to the control of Kiev in exchange for broad autonomy to resolve the conflict that began in 2014 after the Russian annexation of Crimea and which has caused more than 14,000 deaths.
Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky responded to these remarks on Twitter on Monday announcing the imminent convening of the National Security and Defense Council and said he had discussed the issue with US President Joe Biden.
Ukraine also demanded an “immediate” meeting of the UN Security Council in the face of the threat of a Russian invasion.
clear violation
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron said the Russian president’s decision “will not go unanswered,” according to the German government spokesman.
The three leaders “agree that this unilateral move by Russia constitutes a clear violation” of the Minsk peace accords to resolve the Ukrainian conflict, the German chancellery said in a statement released after a meeting between the leaders.
Macron called for “selective European sanctions” against Moscow, according to a statement from the Elysee, which assured that the EU will take action against Russian entities and individuals.
Along the same lines, the head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell, stated that he will put “the package of sanctions on the table of the European ministers”.
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg also condemned a decision that “further undermines Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.” And British Prime Minister Boris Johnson denounced a “flagrant violation of the sovereignty” of Ukraine.
A little earlier, the UN had asked “all stakeholders to refrain from any decision or unilateral action that could undermine the territorial integrity of Ukraine,” in the mouth of its spokesman, Stephane Dujarric.
Lavrov-Blinken summit on Thursday
Putin’s decision was the climax of a day of permanent escalation of tension, as Russia announced in the afternoon the elimination of two Ukrainian “sabotage groups” who had penetrated its territory, and accused Ukraine of having bombed a border post, claims that Kiev denies.
Russia claims it has no plans to invade Ukraine, but demands guarantees that the former Soviet republic will never join NATO and an end to the expansion of that alliance to its borders. Their demands have so far been rejected by the West.
For its part, the White House considers that the invasion of Ukraine is imminent, and accuses Russia of seeking to “crush” the Ukrainian people.
Although the dialogue between Moscow and Washington appears broken, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he will meet his US counterpart Antony Blinken on Thursday.
It’s war, the real one
OSCE monitors recorded more than 3,200 new violations of the ceasefire in force in eastern Ukraine in 48 hours, according to a statement released late Monday.
On their side, the separatists reported the death of three civilians in the last 24 hours, as well as the explosion of an ammunition depot in the Novoazovsk region, accusing “Ukrainian saboteurs” of it. This information could not be independently verified.
“It’s the war, the real one,” said Tatiana Nikulina, 64, who is among those evacuated from the Donetsk region to the Russian city of Taganrog.
The authorities of the two pro-Russian “republics” ordered the mobilization of men in a state of combat and the evacuation of civilians to Russia. Moscow said on Monday that 61,000 people had been evacuated from the area.