08:05 February 22, 2022, updated 09:08 February 22, 2022
Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the nation in the early morning Sakhalin time. On the screens of federal TV channels, the head of state announced that he would soon sign a decree recognizing the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics.
“The situation in the Donbas has again taken on a critical, acute character,” Vladimir Putin began his speech.
The President decided to arrange a history lesson, which turned out to be that he began to criticize Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin. “Arrows” flew in the direction of Lenin because he transferred vast territories to Ukraine along with the historical Russian population. Stalin got it for not deleting from the documents the right of the republics to secede from the USSR.
– Modern Ukraine was entirely created by Russia. More precisely, communist Bolshevik Russia. Can be called [государство] Ukraine named after Vladimir Ilyich Lenin. He is its author and architect. And now “grateful” descendants demolished the monuments of Lenin. Do you want decommunization? We are ready to show what real decommunization is for Ukraine,” Vladimir Putin said.
The head of state reached modern history and remembered how Russia sold energy resources to Ukraine at a reduced price, and Ukraine manipulated it and at the same time stole blue fuel. Putin noted that instead of partnership, dependency began to prevail in relations. The President fired critical arrows both towards the Ukrainian authorities and local oligarchs.
“Sustainable statehood in Ukraine has not yet developed,” Putin added.
The President began to retell the events of 2014 and said that the US Embassy paid a million dollars to the opposition every day during the Maidan. Then the head of state turned to his favorite topic about how bad things are for the neighbors: prices are rising, people are leaving, and they squandered the dowry from the USSR and the Russian Empire. The politician said that the country is under external control and is becoming a colony.
Vladimir Putin spoke about Crimea, about the new military strategy of the neighbors and about the possible appearance of nuclear weapons in Ukraine. Many words were said about NATO equipment and specialists who work in the country. The head of state referred to a number of documents obligated to block Ukraine’s accession to NATO, because this poses a threat to Russia’s security.
Why make an enemy out of us? There is only one answer – they simply do not need such a large independent country as Russia, – the president said about the motivation of the United States.
The head of state recalled how NATO was moving east. The politician listed the capabilities of this organization and noted that if military facilities were deployed on the territory of Ukraine, missiles would be able to reach Moscow very quickly. Depending on the type of weapons (and their deployment points), the threat to the Russian capital can come in half an hour or five minutes.
– We are again threatened with sanctions, which they will impose anyway. There is only one goal – to restrain the development of Russia. I want to say clearly and directly that Russia has every right to take retaliatory measures to ensure its own security. That is exactly what we will do. As for the state of affairs in the Donbass. The ruling elite in Kiev constantly declares its unwillingness to implement the Minsk package of measures to resolve the conflict. On the contrary, he is trying to organize a blitzkrieg in the Donbass. The civilized world prefers not to notice this, as if there is no such genocide to which four million people are subjected. How long can this tragedy continue? How much more can you endure? I consider it necessary to make a long overdue decision to recognize the independence and sovereignty of the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Lugansk People’s Republic. I ask the Federal Assembly to support this decision and then ratify the treaties of friendship and mutual assistance with both republics. These two documents will be prepared and signed in the very near future. From those who seized and hold power in Kiev, we demand an immediate cessation of hostilities. Otherwise, all responsibility for the possible continuation of the bloodshed will be entirely on the conscience of the ruling regime in Ukraine. Announcing the decisions taken today, I am confident in the support of the citizens of Russia. To all the patriotic forces of the country,” Vladimir Putin concluded his nearly hour-long address.
What will result in the recognition of the DPR and LPR? Now Russia will be able to conclude an agreement with the administrations of the republics and introduce its troops. A similar situation was in 2008, when there was tension in the Caucasus – then Georgia was at war with Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Domestic soldiers took the side of the latter.
A few hours before the address, when most Sakhalin and Kuril residents had just gone to bed, a broadcast appeared from a meeting of the Russian Security Council. According to federal publications, the meeting was recorded in advance. At it, President Vladimir Putin listened to the opinion of the country’s top officials on the situation with the DPR and LPR.
Deputy Chairman of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev recalled the events of 2008, when he had to recognize South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The former president is sure that after the escalation another thaw will come, because economic relations with Russia are important to the West.
Director of the Foreign Intelligence Service Sergei Naryshkin at a meeting of the Security Council came under pressure from Putin, who asked him to “speak directly” about his vision of the situation in the Donbass. The head of the Foreign Intelligence Service got nervous and said that he supported the proposal to join the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics into the Russian Federation.
Against the backdrop of news about the conflict and the recognition of the republics, a record collapse occurred in the Russian stock market – the Moscow Exchange index collapsed by 14% and rolled back to the end of 2020, when the country was trying to cope with the pandemic. There has not been such a sharp drop since 2008. The ruble is also collapsing against world currencies.
The political situation may result in sanctions for Russia. The Sakhalin region is in a good position, because oil prices are rising against the backdrop of the conflict in the Donbass. The falling ruble also plays in favor of the islanders, because foreign companies pay tax in dollars, and then it is already converted into our currency.
The civil war in Ukraine broke out in 2014, after which the country fell apart into two parts: the western one remained under the current government, and the eastern one turned into two unrecognized republics. In parallel with this, the territory of the neighboring state left the Crimea, which became part of Russia.
At the end of 2021, the situation in eastern Ukraine escalated, and at the beginning of 2022, foreign media began to name the days when a war involving Russia should begin. On February 18, explosions again began to be heard in the DPR and LPR, which led to the evacuation of the civilian population in the Russian Federation – the number is already going to tens of thousands of people.
43 regions of Russia are ready to accept refugees, and the state will pay 10,000 rubles to everyone who crosses the border. For these purposes, five billion rubles were allocated from the budget – the Ministry of Emergency Situations will distribute them. Apparently, now some region will not have enough assistance from the federal budget.
Updated today at 09:08
Decrees on the recognition by Russia of the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics have been published. The President instructed the Ministry of Defense to ensure the maintenance of peace by the Russian armed forces. The Russian Foreign Ministry should establish diplomatic relations with the DPR and LPR, writes about this ““.
President’s instructions:
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation – to negotiate the establishment of diplomatic relations;
- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation – to hold talks on the preparation of a draft treaty on friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance;
- The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation is to ensure, before the conclusion of an agreement on friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance, “the implementation by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation … of peacekeeping functions.”
The decrees entered into force from the date of signing.
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