Head of the Department of Management and Social Technologies of the North-Western Institute of the RANEPA Inna Vetrenko on Thursday, February 24, in an interview with Izvestia, assessed the start of a military operation to protect Donbass.
“President of Russia [Владимир Путин] said the main thing – we are ready to help the residents of Donbass. This is the next step that we all expected when the president turned to the citizens of the country and explained the logic of what is happening, ”she said.
According to the expert, the situation in Donbass worsened: shelling began to be carried out more often, not only at night, but also during the day. Vetrenko pointed out that by such actions, official Kiev made it clear that it was not ready to resolve issues related to Donbass through peaceful diplomatic means.
“The President of Russia explained the logic of the steps. In any case, Ukraine will have to cease fire and sit down at the negotiating table,” the expert concluded.
On the morning of February 24, Putin, in his special televised address, announced that a special military operation would be carried out in the Donbass in order to protect the civilian population.
As Andrei Krasov, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Defense, noted in an interview with Izvestia, the Russian president outlined the goals of the military operation, there is no talk of a war between Russia and Ukraine. The operation is carried out to save the life and health of the residents of the DPR and LPR.
The situation on the line of contact in Donbass escalated on February 17. In the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, heavy shelling by Ukrainian security forces was reported, including from heavy weapons. The republics announced a general mobilization and evacuation of civilians to the territory of Russia.
On February 21, Putin signed decrees recognizing the independence of the LPR and DPR. Also, the Russian leader and the heads of both republics Leonid Pasechnik and Denis Pushilin signed agreements on friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance. The documents were ratified the next day by both the republics themselves and the Russian State Duma.
Since 2014, the Ukrainian authorities have been carrying out a military operation against the inhabitants of Donbass, who refused to recognize the results of the coup d’état and the new government in Ukraine. At the same time, Kiev blames Moscow for the current situation. Russia has repeatedly stated that it is not a party to the conflict.
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