Russia has long feared a new attack on Ukraine. The great power has mobilized a large number of soldiers and heavy military equipment in the vicinity of Ukraine.
Russian president Vladimir Putin has ordered troops to the separatist regions of eastern Ukraine, whose independence was previously recognized by the president on Monday. According to Putin, the soldiers are “leaving to secure peace.”
In two separate orders, Putin directs his defense ministry to be responsible for “maintaining peace” in Luhansk and Donetsk.
Russia has long feared a new attack on Ukraine. The great power has mobilized a large number of soldiers and heavy military equipment in the vicinity of Ukraine. Recognition of the separatist regions has also been feared to exacerbate the crisis.
Representatives of several Western countries have already condemned Putin’s decision to recognize the independence of the so-called Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics.
Finland also condemned Russia’s unilateral actions in violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. Published by the Office of the President of the Republic of Finland opinion according to, the recognition of the separatist regions of eastern Ukraine is a serious violation of the Minsk agreements.
According to the statement, Finland is responding to Russia’s actions as part of the European Union.
Luhansk and in addition to recognizing Donetsk, Putin signed aid deals with separatist leaders on Monday, according to news agency AFP.
Putin signed an order recognizing the independence of the separatist regions in a televised speech that lasted about an hour. According to Putin, the decision to recognize independence should have been made a long time ago.
BBCPutin said he had asked the Russian parliament to ratify the decision as soon as possible.
The president also urged Ukraine to immediately end the “hostilities” that Russia alleges Ukraine has committed in eastern Ukraine.
“Otherwise, all responsibility for the possible continued bloodshed rests entirely with the ruling government in Ukraine,” Putin added.
Western countries have feared Russia will try to justify the invasion of Ukraine with false claims and may stage Ukrainian attacks as an excuse for war.
Ukraine has denied Russia’s recent allegations of, among other things, saboteurs seeking to cross the border and destroying the border guard station. On Monday, the Ukrainian foreign minister demanded that Russia shut down its “lie factory”.
In 2014 Russia occupies the Crimean peninsula and starts a war in eastern Ukraine. Russian-backed separatists have been at war with Ukrainian forces for eight years.
The basis of the Minsk agreements aimed at a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine falls off when Putin recognizes the independence of Luhansk and Donetsk, says Finland, among others, who served as ambassador to Moscow Hannu Himanen.
“On top of that, it could indicate that Russian forces, which have now been mobilized to a large extent and with high readiness near the Ukrainian border, would push into these areas openly and with full force,” Himanen told STT.
Russia has recently demanded so-called security guarantees from the West, among other things, to prevent NATO from expanding further to the east.
In his speech, Putin argued that Ukraine’s accession to NATO would be a direct threat to Russia’s security. He also claimed that NATO had ignored Russia’s security concerns.
He also claimed Ukraine was a US-controlled puppet and accused the Ukrainian authorities of corruption. However, Putin did not provide evidence for either allegation.
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