KYIV | The Russian Parliament gave Tuesday evening the green light to a military operation in Ukraine, ignoring the outcry of the international community and the sanctions adopted by the West.
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The fear of a military escalation in Ukraine, at the gates of which 150,000 Russian soldiers have, according to Washington, been deployed, has been at its peak since Vladimir Putin on Monday recognized the independence of the secessionist entities of Lugansk and Donetsk, located in the east of this country.
Russian Deputy Defense Minister Nikolai Pankov read, on Tuesday evening before the Senate, a request from the Russian President to deploy troops there, arguing that “on the borders of the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk, an army (Ukrainian ) of 60,000 men and heavy armour” was ready to attack.
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During a press conference, a few minutes following receiving the agreement of elected officials, Mr. Putin appeared before a handful of journalists to denounce once once more the abuses that Kiev is committing according to him once morest the separatists of the Donbass.
He left doubts regarding the timetable for sending armed forces, but said he was in favor of a “demilitarization” of Ukraine, which would “better” to give up his ambition to join NATO to choose the “neutrality”.
“I did not say that our soldiers are going to go there, now (…) It will depend, as they say, on the situation on the ground”, he declared. Immediately followingwards, Russian diplomacy announced the forthcoming evacuation of its diplomats from Ukraine.
Mr. Putin also claimed for the separatists all of the administrative regions of Lugansk and Donetsk, the area of which greatly exceeds that of the territories under their control. He mentioned hypothetical “negotiations” between Kiev and pro-Russian forces.
The Russian intervention would be legally justified by the ratification Tuesday of mutual aid agreements, in particular at the military level.
NATO expects “a massive attack” from Russia in Ukraine, announced in this context its Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg.
The Pentagon, for its part, indicated that the United States was looking for a way to “prevent the conflict from going any further”.
First sanctions
The threat to Ukraine is growing as the West has taken the first sanctions in response to the recognition of the separatists that Kiev has been fighting for eight years, a conflict which has left more than 14,000 dead.
Mr. Poutine announced the end of the ongoing peace process, under Franco-German mediation, saying that it “no longer exists”.
On the Western side, the strongest retaliatory measure was announced by Berlin, which froze the Nord Stream II gas pipeline linking Russia to Germany.
The EU has adopted a package of sanctions that “will hurt Russia very much”, assured in the evening the head of its diplomacy, Josep Borrell. The White House must also announce its own.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whose country on Tuesday demanded “weapons” and guarantees on its membership of the EU, said he was now considering a break in diplomatic relations with Moscow.
Accused by Kiev of wanting to “resurrect the USSR”, Putin has defended himself once morest trying to “rebuild an empire”.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced sanctions targeting three oligarchs close to the Kremlin and five Russian banks, minimum measures for London, the financial stronghold of the great Russian fortunes.
These measures remain for the moment modest compared to those promised in the event of a major invasion.
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“Not afraid”
Mr. Putin, who has dictated the tempo from the start, maintains the mystery of his intentions and has several options before him: invade all of Ukraine, expand the area under the control of the separatists or wrest a new negotiated status quo.
Because an occupation might be expensive in a hostile country and Russia wants to obtain from NATO its retreat in Eastern Europe and the end of its enlargement policy. Requirements rejected so far.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov for his part warned on Tuesday that “difficult trials” and losses awaited Ukraine.
During the night, President Zelensky had for his part assured that the Ukrainians were “not afraid of anything or anyone” and would not cede “a single parcel of the country”.
On the front line, shootings were still taking place with the separatists.
Kiev denies any offensive action, contrary to Moscow’s claims, accusing its opponents of spreading false information aimed at trying to justify an intervention.
In Shchastia, residents of this small town near the separatist areas were cleaning up the damage caused by shells that fell the previous night on a residential area on Tuesday.
Valentyna Chmatkova, 59, was sleeping when the projectiles exploded, blowing out the windows of her one-bedroom apartment. “We did not expect that. We did not think that Ukraine and Russia would not come to an agreement in the end,” she laments.
