On Thursday, Putin signed a decree recognizing the two independent Ukrainian regions, in a move that preceded his speech, Friday, in which he declared Lugansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhia “Russian territories.”
Referendum results in the four regions resulted in voters’ support for joining Russia. This decision raises a question about the reasons for Putin’s insistence on annexing these areas to his country.
The importance of the four regions
The areas in which the referendum was held are of strategic importance in terms of location, population and their natural resources:
- Zaporozhye and Kherson lie within the East European Plain, and are linked by a common border.
- Zaporozhye is bordered on the east by Donetsk, on the south by the Sea of Azov, and it is located on the Ukrainian border with Dnipropetrovsk.
- It covers an area of 27.18 thousand square kilometers, and includes 5 provinces and 14 cities.
- It has a population of 1.636 million people, of whom there are currently 43 percent.
- Kherson borders the Ukrainian regions of Nikolaev and Dnepropetrovsk, and is bounded by the Crimea in the south, the Sea of Azov in the southeast, and the Black Sea in the southwest.
- It covers an area of 28.46 thousand square kilometers and includes 5 regions.
- With a population of less than a million, a quarter of them currently live in it.
Lugansk and Donetsk regions
- On February 22, Putin recognized the independence of Lugansk and Donetsk, which are located south of the East European Plain, and share a border.
- The border connects Lugansk with Kharkiv in Ukraine, and Belgorod, Rostov and Voronezh in Russia.
- Lugansk covers an area of 26.68 thousand square kilometers and has a population of 1.4 million.
- Donetsk borders with Russia’s Rostov border on the Sea of Azov, and the Ukrainian regions of Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporozhye and Kharkiv.
- Its area is 26.52 thousand square kilometers.
- It is home to 2.2 million people.
Strategic and economic treasures
The importance of Lugansk and Donetsk is not limited to their location and common borders with Russia, but also to the economy.
- The two regions contain the largest iron, steel and coal mines in Ukraine.
- 70% of Ukraine’s wealth is concentrated in them.
- An important point in the marine and land transportation network.
- Ukraine’s exports to the Black Sea and the Middle East cross it.
- The most important Ukrainian export port, Mariupol, is located within the administrative boundaries of Donetsk.
American “Mesmar Juha”
In an interview with Sky News Arabia, the expert in international relations, Abdel Masih Al-Shami, believes that the four regions mean a lot to the Russian president for several reasons:
- It is geographically closest to Russia and extends with Crimea, which Moscow annexed in 2014.
- Its historical importance as belonging to Russia in the Soviet era.
- Donbass was the center of Russian industry after the discovery of coal.
- Moscow is keen to keep any danger coming from Ukraine away from its territory, and after Ukraine has turned into a Western platform against Russia, these areas have become the “nail of Juha” for US intervention.
And he adds, “With the decision to annex, Putin completely closes this loophole in front of Washington, to prevent these areas from being used as a means of pressure in the war.”
decision effect
Regarding the repercussions of Putin’s decision on the war, Al-Shami expects the war equation to change in this direction:
- For 6 months, Donbass remained a point of fierce confrontation between Moscow and Kiev. After its annexation to Russia, it became a territory whose fate was determined according to Russian conditions. This gives it the right to use more lethal weapons to counter exotic weapons.
- The annexation of the Ukrainian regions causes a reshuffling of the cards between the parties to the conflict, and sets new conditions for the conflict.
- Threats will intensify between Russia and the West, which heralds a new phase of escalation if Ukraine does not abide by Russia’s conditions in these separate regions, according to Al-Shami.
#war #equation #changed. #importance #Russias #separate #regions #Ukraine