(CNN) –– Russian President Vladimir Putin signed decrees recognizing the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Lugansk People’s Republic on Monday in a ceremony broadcast on state television. The move comes amid rising tensions and fears of a Moscow invasion of Kyiv.
This same Monday, the heads of the self-proclaimed pro-Russian republics had asked Putin to recognize their independence and sovereignty.
Members of Putin’s Security Council supported the initiative at a meeting the same day.
Putin orders Parliament to recognize breakaway regions of Donetsk and Lugansk
Putin also ordered parliament to recognize breakaway regions and ratify friendship treaties. The announcement came following a lengthy speech in which he accused the United States and NATO of trying to turn Ukraine into a military outpost to threaten Russia.
“I consider it necessary to make a long overdue decision: to immediately recognize the independence and sovereignty of the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Lugansk People’s Republic,” Putin said.
“I ask the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation to support this decision. And then to ratify the treaties of friendship and mutual assistance with both republics. These two documents will be prepared and signed in the very near future. And from those who seized and retain power in Kyiv, we demand an immediate cessation of hostilities. Otherwise, all responsibility for the possible continuation of bloodshed will fall entirely on the conscience of the ruling regime on the territory of Ukraine,” he continued.
“Announcing the decisions taken today, I am confident of the support of the citizens of Russia and all the patriotic forces of the country. Thank you for your attention,” added the Russian leader.
Why is Putin’s recognition so significant?
The war broke out in 2014 following Russian-backed rebels seized government buildings in towns and cities in eastern Ukraine. Heavy fighting has left parts of the Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts in the Donbas region in the hands of separatists who are backed by Moscow. Russia also annexed Crimea from Ukraine that year, in a move that drew worldwide condemnation.
The areas the separatists control in Donbas are now known as the Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR) and the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR). The Ukrainian government in Kyiv claims the two regions are in effect occupied by Russia. The self-proclaimed republics were not recognized by any government, including the Kremlin, until Monday. Furthermore, the Ukrainian government refuses to speak directly with either of the two breakaway republics.
The 2015 Minsk II agreement led to an unstable ceasefire agreement. So the conflict turned into a static war along the Line of Contact that separates the Ukrainian government and the areas controlled by the separatists. The Minsk Agreements (named following the Belarusian capital where they were concluded) prohibit heavy weapons near the Line of Contact.
The language surrounding the conflict is highly politicized. The Ukrainian government calls the separatist forces “invaders” and “occupiers”. Russian media call the separatist forces “militias” and say they are locals defending themselves once morest the Kyiv government.
More than 14,000 people have been killed in the Donbas conflict since 2014. Ukraine says 1.5 million people have been forced to flee their homes, most staying in areas of Donbas that remain under Ukrainian control and some 200,000 have resettled in the wider Kyiv region.
Europe’s leaders react to the decision
European Union leaders condemned Putin’s decision to recognize the independence of the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Lugansk in Ukraine.
“The recognition of the two breakaway territories in Ukraine is a flagrant violation of international law, the territorial integrity of Ukraine and the Minsk agreements,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a tweet.
The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, echoed der Leyen’s statements on Twitter. In this sense, he affirmed that “the European Union and its partners will react with unity, firmness and determination in solidarity”.
Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics also condemned Moscow’s decision and called for the EU to impose immediate sanctions on Russia.
“Latvia condemns this act of aggression and calls for a response [internacional] firm. The European Union must impose sanctions immediately,” Rinkevics said in a tweet on Monday.
The Kremlin anticipated the recognition of Putin
Shortly before the signing of Putin’s decrees, the Kremlin announced in a statement that Putin had informed French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz by phone that he intended to sign a decree “soon ” to recognize the breakaway republics of Donbas.
“Vladimir Putin briefed you on the results of the enlarged meeting of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, which considered the current situation around Donbas in the context of the State Duma’s decision on the recognition of the Donetsk People’s Republics and Luhansk,” a Kremlin statement said. “Today, the leaders of the DPR (Donetsk People’s Republic) and the LPR (Luhansk People’s Republic) received calls to recognize their sovereignty in connection with the military aggression of the Ukrainian authorities, the massive shelling of Donbas territory, as a result of the suffering of the civilian population,” the statement added.
According to the Kremlin reading, Macron and Scholz “expressed their disappointment with this development. At the same time, they indicated their readiness to continue contacts.”
The key issue in Putin’s Security Council
Hours earlier on Monday, Putin had also indicated that he was evaluating a request by pro-Russian separatist leaders to recognize the regions they control in eastern Ukraine as independent.
At that time he noted that “the purpose of today’s (Monday) meeting is to listen to colleagues and determine our next steps in this direction. Including the appeal of the leaders of the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic to Russia seeking recognition of their sovereignty and the resolution of the State Duma on the same issue,” Putin told his security council, in remarks broadcast on television.
Russian forces concentrate on the Ukraine border. However, the spotlight last week returned to the raucous low-intensity war in eastern Ukraine. And thus in its possible role in setting the stage for a broader conflict.
Ukrainians say bombing by Russian-backed separatists is at its highest point in nearly three years. And, for their part, the separatists point to the use of heavy weapons by the Ukrainian armed forces once morest civilian areas. Kyiv said it recorded more than 100 violations of the truce in the east, following a day of heavy weapons fire that sparked fears of a Russian invasion.
Leaders of the two pro-Russian breakaway territories, which call themselves the Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics, said the Ukrainians are planning a major military offensive in the area. On Friday they organized mass evacuations of civilians to Russia, while instructing the men to stay and take up arms. Ukrainian officials have repeatedly denied any such plans.
The US had already warned that it would respond if Russia recognized separatist regions
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had previously warned of “a swift and firm response” from the US, its allies and partners if Russia took steps to recognize Ukraine’s breakaway regions as part of Russian territory. Even, at the time, he described such a measure as a “serious violation of international law.”
“To be clear: The approval of this request by the Kremlin would amount to the total rejection by the Russian government of its commitments under the Minsk agreements, which outline the process for the full political, social and economic reintegration of the parties to the conflict. the Donbas region of Ukraine controlled by Russian-backed forces and political representatives since 2014,” Blinken said last week when this issue was under discussion in the Russian Duma.
“Issuance of this resolution would further undermine the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, constitute a serious violation of international law, further call into question Russia’s stated commitment to continue to engage in diplomacy to achieve a peaceful resolution of this crisis. . And it would require a swift and robust response from the United States in full coordination with our allies and partners,” Blinken wrote.
The State Department has not elaborated on what that “quick and firm response” would entail.
