On Monday, the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin has recognised the independence of two separatist areas in Eastern Ukraine while broadcasting emotionally on a state-run television even after being warned from the west that any such move may lead to international sanctions.
President Putin while broadcasting said that he believed it was necessary to take the long and overdue decision of immediately recognising the independence and sovereignty of the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Lugansk People’s Republic. He followed up his speech by signing mutual aid agreements with the rebel leaders in the Kremlin.
President of Russia has also ordered the Russian military to act as peacekeepers in the two breakaway regions in Eastern Ukraine a few hours after he had recognised them as an independent. He also instructed his defence ministry to assume the function of peacekeeping in the two regions of Lugansk and Donetsk. The Secretary-General of the United Nations was greatly concerned by the decision that was taken by Vladimir Putin related to the status of certain areas located in the eastern parts of Ukraine, as stated by his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.
NATO has condemned this decision by the Russian Federation. The Chief of NATO said that this has led to further undermining of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty and has eroded all the efforts that were made towards resolving the conflict between the two nations. This decision is also in violation of the Minsk Agreements to which Moscow is a party. Germany has slammed this decision and said that Russia has broken all the promises it made to the world regarding the Ukraine crisis. The Foreign Minister of Germany said that Russia has now gone back on its engagements to the international community after it has recognised the rebel-held areas in Eastern Ukraine as independent states.
President of the United States, Joe Biden will be issuing an executive order for the prohibition of new investment trade and the financing from the US persons to, from, or in the so-called recognised new areas of Ukraine, as per the statement made by the White House Press Secretary. Meanwhile the Prime Minister of Britain, Boris Jonson has also condemned the Russian federation’s recognition of the separatist republics as a violation of the integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine.
The Foreign Secretary of Britain said that this step has moved signals to put an end to the Minsk process and was a violation of the United Nations Charter. The Chief of the UN had rushed back to New York after scrapping his schedule citing the degrading situation regarding Ukraine. Antonio Guterres will be coming back to New York on Tuesday after cancelling a planned trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The National Security Council of Ukraine will be meeting soon to discuss their next steps after the recognition of rebel-held areas of the Eastern parts of their country by Russia amid escalating tensions between the two countries.
