Russian President Vladimir Putin has on Monday recognised Donetsk People’s Republic and the Lugansk People’s Republic in eastern Ukraine as independent and ordered the deployment of troops to the two breakaway regions. The moves have accelerated a crisis the West fears could unleash a major war.
A witness told Reuters that tanks and other military hardware were seen moving through the separatist-controlled city of Donetsk after Putin formally recognised the breakaway regions and ordered the deployment of Russian forces to “keep the peace”.
About five tanks were seen in a column on the edge of Donetsk and two more in another part of town, according to a Reuters reporter.
Putin’s announcement drew globe-wide condemnation and immediate U.S. sanctions to suspend U.S. business activity in the breakaway regions and ban import of all goods from those areas.
These measures were separate from sanctions the U.S. and its allies had prepared if Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said in a statement. The White House said it would reveal further measures on Tuesday.
Britain, France, and Germany also agreed to respond to Russia’s recognition of the breakaway regions with sanctions.
ANCIENT LANDS
In a lengthy televised address packed with grievances against the West, President Putin, joined by Russia-backed separatist leaders, said eastern Ukraine was ancient Russian land.
The Russian state television showed Putin signing a decree recognising the independence of the two Ukrainian breakaway regions.
Putin had announced his decision in phone calls to the leaders of Germany and France earlier, the Kremlin said in a statement.
In his address, the Russian president delved into history as far back as the Ottoman empire and as recent as the tensions over NATO’s eastward expansion.
“I deem it necessary to make a decision that should have been made a long time ago – to immediately recognise the independence and sovereignty of the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Lugansk People’s Republic,” Putin stated.
A French presidential official described in a statement the speech as “mixed various considerations of a rigid and paranoid nature.”
