Fears of Ukraine invasion deepen as Putin to recognise independence of breakaway areas
Russian President Vladimir Putin will recognise two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine as independent entities.
Mr Putin went on to sign agreements on cooperation and friendship with the Russian-backed regions of Donetsk and Luhansk after an ‘escalatory’ television speech lasting nearly an hour.
Experts believe this could allow Russia to send peacekeepers into Ukraine in order to supposedly guard what it considers two independent nations.
Pro-Russian separatists control about 30% of the areas and have been fighting Ukrainian control since 2014.
The decision has been described as an ‘ill omen’ and a ‘flagrant breach’ of international law by Boris Johnson.
The prime minister, who attended a press conference, updating Britain on the end of Covid restrictions, said: ‘This is a flagrant violation of the sovereignty and integrity of Ukraine.
‘It is a repudiation of the Minsk process and the Minsk agreements and I think it’s a very ill omen and a very dark sign.
‘It’s yet another indication things are heading in the wrong direction.’
The PM confirmed Britain will be ‘urgently talking to allies around the world’, with the potential of implementing sanctions against the Kremlin.
Foreign secretary Liz Truss also stressed that Mr Putin’s actions could not be allowed to go ‘unpunished’.
The formal recognition of the two areas has been named ‘a big moment in this crisis’, which could be used as a justification for Russia to invade Ukraine.
Questions remain whether Mr Putin will try to further claim more territory in Europe as reactions from Western leaders continue to pour in.
Previously, the EU vowed to react strongly if the Kremlin decides to follow through on its announcement.
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who had been in talks with U.S. President Joe Biden discussing the events of the last hours, said he will begin a meeting of the National Security and Defense Council.
He added that a conversation with Mr Johnson is also on the cards.
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and the president of the European Council Charles Michel condemned ‘in the strongest possible terms’ Putin’s decision.
The statement said: ‘President von der Leyen and President Michel condemn in the strongest possible terms the decision by the Russian President to proceed with the recognition of the non-government controlled areas of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts of Ukraine as independent entities.
‘This step is a blatant violation of international law as well as of the Minsk agreements.
‘The Union will react with sanctions against those involved in this illegal act.
‘The Union reiterates its unwavering support to Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders.’
NATO secretary Jens Stoltenberg also released a statement condemning Russia for undermining Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and ‘violating the Minsk agreements’.
In his television address to the Russian nation, Putin reviewed the two countries’ linked history, arguing that his nation was ‘robbed’ by the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Referring to Ukraine’s connection with the West, he went on to accuse its neighbour of being a ‘US colony’ with a ‘puppet regime’.
Minutes after Putin’s address, celebrations kicked off in Donetsk, with people letting off fireworks and waving Russia’s national flag, as shown in footage aired by Ria Novosti, a Russian-state television channel.
Politics professor Sam Greene at King’s College London insisted that Putin had ‘laid the rhetorical groundwork for war, but didn’t declare it’.
He said: ‘Putin laid the foundations for a formal military presence in DPR/LPR, but didn’t define the borders.
‘The practiced strategic ambiguity continues. We still don’t know where this is going, and that’s the point.’
During his speech, Mr Putin insisted that Ukraine’s admission to NATO would be a direct threat to Russia’s security and argued that recent events had been a cover for the swift deployment of Western troops to the country.
In a lengthy rant against the Alliance, he made a number of other accusations.
He said that U.S. drones are ‘constantly spying on Russia’, that NATO has ‘unashamedly turned Ukraine into a theatre of war’ and that the country has been flooded with weapons in recent months.
Earlier today, defence secretary Ben Wallace has said there was still ‘strong cause for concern’ that Mr Putin remained committed to an invasion, despite diplomatic moves to end the crisis.
In a Commons statement, he said Russian forces were continuing to move towards the border zone contrary to repeated assurances given by Moscow.
There were now more than 110 battalion tactical groups massed along the border while the Black Sea fleet included two amphibious groups and nine cruise missile-equipped ships with a further four cruise missile-capable vessels in the Caspian.
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