During a televised address on Monday evening, Vladimir Putin officially recognized the independence of the pro-Russian separatist territories in eastern Ukraine.
Article written by
Published
Update
Reading time : 1 min.
Vladimir Putin recognized the independence of the pro-Russian separatist regions of eastern Ukraine, monday february 21. The Russian President signed “friendship and mutual aid agreements” with the separatists, at the same time calling on Ukraine to “cease military operations”. “I consider it necessary to take this decision which was ripe for a long time”said Vladimir Putin in a televised address of about an hour, marked by numerous references to History.
>> Crisis in Ukraine: follow the evolution of the situation in our Direct
The Russian president immediately urged Ukraine to immediately cease “his military operations” against the separatists or to assume “responsibility for continued bloodshed”. The Russian president then signed agreements “friendship and support” with these territories.
This announcement comes as Westerners fear an imminent invasion of Ukraine, on the borders of which more than 150,000 Russian soldiers, according to Washington, have been waiting for weeks.
These statements have also triggered a cascade of reactions from Europeans. Boris Johnson denounces a “flagrant violation of sovereignty”while the European Union promises to react with “firmness” to these announcements. The European Union, like NATO and London, denounced this decision, seeing it as a “flagrant violation of international law” and claiming that she was going to react “firmly”.
Western countries threatened Moscow with heavy sanctions in the event of military aggression, but it was not clear what measures could be taken after this Russian recognition. The United States announced sanctions against separatist regions in Ukraine.
Vladimir Putin’s decision comes at the end of a crazy day which saw Moscow multiply the accusations against Ukraine, such as the destruction of a border post by Ukrainian artillery or the infiltration of a team of “saboteurs” therefore five members would have been killed. Kiev has denied these claims outright, which Westerners say are part of Moscow’s efforts to create a pretext for military intervention.