Putin recognizes the independence of the Ukrainian regions of Lugansk and Donetsk
Ukraine's allies have ratified "firm and unitary" measures
On Monday, President Vladimir Putin met with his Security Council to discuss the issue of tension with the West and its European allies.
With Ukraine as the main point of the meeting, Putin has recognized the independence of the breakaway regions in Ukraine: Donetsk and Lugansk.
Through a televised meeting, the Russian president consulted with all his political and military advisers, including Sergei Lavrov, Russia's chief diplomat, Sergei Shoigu, defense minister, and the speaker of parliament, Vyacheslav Volodin.
After a previous retreat for a private discussion, Putin announced that he would sign the recognition of the independence of the Ukrainian provinces of Donetsk and Lugansk as soon as possible.
Lavrov assured that this decision is a strong message against those who seek to "trample" the rights of the Russians. On the other hand, the Defense Minister denounced that Ukraine continues to receive weapons from the West and Europe.
Kremlin sources have assured that Putin, prior to making the official announcement, communicated the decision to French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Shcolz.
The recognition of Lugansk and Donestk as independent republics was the central point of the meeting in Moscow.
In this context, Russia would be allowed to enter the provinces of Ukraine, under the request of military support from the pro-Russian leaders as an objective of protecting the Russian population in the regions.
In turn, the Russian interior minister, Vladimir Kolokoltsev, assured that many more regions of Ukraine should be recognized as independent republics "from Mariupol to the rest of its borders."
This Russian decree has been considered by Ukraine as a legal way to carry out an invasion, which led Volodimir Zelensky to request an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.
With Putin's decision, responses from the United States and the Alliance are awaited. Weeks ago, several countries in the West and Europe had warned Russia of "enormous economic sanctions."
However, everything seems to indicate that the European Union will be decisive. Josep Borrell, representative for the Foreign and Security Policy of the European Union, assured that his reaction will be united and strong.
According to history, these declarations of independence have already been made with Russia as the protagonist. In Georgia, the South Ossetia and Abkhazia regions were recognized as independent after a short war in 2008.
In the case of Ukraine it has been the opposite, first they have declared independence and then Russian troops have entered to “defend”.
Violation of the Minsk agreements
The atmosphere that Moscow wanted to show is one of transparency and internal unity, after Putin, after consulting, made a decision.
In his speech, Putin left open questions regarding the pending talks with the leaders of Donetsk and Lugansk that Ukraine has refused.
The Kremlin's rhetoric for a few months has been the same, alleging that all the decisions they make are in defense of the Russian population that is under "Ukrainian repression."
Before Putin's announcement, Denis Pushilin and Leonid Pasechnik, leaders of Donetsk and Lugansk, asked the Russian president to recognize the independence of their territories.
Russia's Duma (parliament) sent a formal request to Putin a week ago to sign the decree. By making this announcement, the Minsk agreements would become obsolete.
Since the 2014 conflicts, where Crimea was annexed to Russia, Ukraine and the Kremlin have accused each other of violating the Minsk agreements.
Through a video, Pasechnik asked Putin to recognize the "Lugansk People's Republic" to avoid the "mass death" of its citizens. According to Russian media, in Lugansk, there is a Russian population of 300,000 people.
For his part, Pushilin asked Moscow to carry out a "friendship and cooperation" agreement with the self-proclaimed "Donetsk People's Republic".
Since the morning hours, tension has been escalating in the eastern region of Ukraine, where Moscow accused five Ukrainian soldiers of wanting to attack. The soldiers were executed.
Currently, Russia's military strength around Ukraine is estimated at 190,000 soldiers.
Ukraine and NATO
Putin on Monday maintained his demand to ban Ukraine from NATO, arguing that if accession is finalized, Kiev will attack Crimea and try to win it back.
On the other hand, Putin argued that Ukraine is being used by the United States as a "puppet" for Western objectives.
The Russian diplomat, Serguei Lavrov, assured at the Security Council meeting that the channels of dialogue remain open, but that they will not give in on their demands, the expansion of NATO to Eastern Europe.
At the same time, he confirmed that he will meet his American counterpart, Antony Blinken, on Thursday, February 24, in Geneva.
The Russian impression on the West is that they have decontextualized speeches to promote a war in Europe. In addition, Lavrov has hinted that the United States is willing to sacrifice Ukraine's annexation to NATO.
In the televised meeting, it has been clearly shown that Russia only wants to negotiate with the United States, despite the efforts of French President Emmanuel Macron to lead international diplomatic meetings.
This Monday, at the Elysee it was assured that they had accepted a summit between Putin and Biden, as long as an invasion did not occur.
At the beginning of the meeting in Moscow, in his speech Putin assures that in 2014 there was a coup in Ukraine and that many regions do not recognize the government in place.
In addition, it reiterates that the Kremlin has insisted on resolving the conflict even when kyiv has mistreated Russians living on its territory.
In his speech, Russian Defense Minister Serguei Shoigu stressed that Ukraine's true intentions are to return to being a nuclear weapons power.
This mention is in reference to Zelenski's denunciations where he criticizes that Ukraine, in exchange for security guarantees, renounced its nuclear arsenal.