Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian troops on Monday to “maintain peace” in two rebel regions of eastern Ukraine.
The development came forward hours after Putin recognised pro-Moscow separatist regions Donetsk and Luhansk as independent entities in a televised national address, reports Reuters.
“I consider it necessary to take a long-overdue decision to immediately recognise the independence and sovereignty of the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic. I ask the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation to support this decision, and then to ratify the treaties of friendship and mutual assistance with individual republics,” Putin announced despite West’s warnings.
Putin termed United States-backed Ukraine as a failed state and “puppet” of the West, repeatedly kept suggesting that it is essentially part of Russia. He said, “Ukraine never had a tradition of genuine statehood.”
He demanded an immediate cessation of hostilities in Kyiv and warned, saying, “Otherwise, all responsibility for the possible continuation of the bloodshed will be entirely on the conscience of the regime ruling on the territory of Ukraine.”
Talking about North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) the Russian President stated, “US strategic planning documents contain the possibility of a so-called preemptive strike against enemy missile systems. And who is the main enemy for the US and NATO? We know that too. It’s Russia. In NATO documents, our country is officially and directly declared the main threat to North Atlantic security.”
“We will never compromise our sovereignty, national interests, and our values,” he said while adding that the country has every right to take retaliatory measures to ensure its security. That is exactly what we will do.
Responding to the news, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed his nation and said that the country had initiated an emergency meeting with the Normandy Four (Germany, Russia, Ukraine, and France), reports CNN.
In a video address, Zelensky said the move was a violation of Ukraine’s “national integrity and sovereignty.”
Ukraine is deeply divided, with a large Russian and Russian-speaking minority. Since fighting broke out in eastern Ukraine in 2014, separatist rebels of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics have been accused of being proxies for Russian interests.
Several leaders of the state across the globe have condemned the act. The US is reportedly coordinating with allies and will announce new sanctions against its long rival Russia
Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan is set to visit tomorrow (Wednesday). In August, Putin and PM Khan talked over the phone and exchanged views on the evolving situation in Afghanistan and bilateral relations.
