(Finance) – As anticipated today in talks with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed, on live TV during his speech to the nation, the decree to recognize the independence of Lugansk and Dontesk, the Ukrainian separatist republics of Donbass.
“Ukraine is not a neighboring state, but part of our history. It is the result of Bolshevik policies. We are ready to show you what it means to liberate Ukraine entirely – Putin said in his message to the nation, retracing the birth of the state of Ukraine -. Ukraine was created by Lenin. This is documented in our archives. Lenin also had a particular interest in the Donbass. Now they demolish the monuments to Lenin. We are ready to show what true liberation from communism means. Ukraine has never had a coherent tradition as a true nation, it has done nothing but follow models from abroad, which have no roots in its history. The authorities that took turns in Kiev took power only on the basis of populist ideas and as soon as they received the mandate, they reneged on all the promises made during the electoral campaign. Ukrainians were dominated only by oligarchs who were only interested in their own business and who wanted to divide it from Russia. There has never been a sustainable state in Ukraine. Our country – continued Putin – has sent humanitarian aid to Ukraine, we can also talk about everything we gave from ’91 to 2000: 250 billion dollars that were sent from Russia to Ukraine. But we are also talking about covering the costs of the Ukrainian debt, we are talking about hundreds of thousands of dollars. Russia was ready to take on all the debt and repaid it in full in 2017 and in exchange this new country which had returned independent gave away some of its properties. We had agreements with Ukraine that Kiev has not ratified and one day he said that there were other agreements in place and despite the fact that Russia has always been collaborative in the interests of all we have continued bilateral cooperation. We have acted in a bilateral way. But they just wanted to take from this cooperation but they didn’t want to give. It is enough to remember the Ukrainian threats regarding energy. They have continually blackmailed us on energy supplies to try to have a preferential route and this is what they have done with the negotiations with the West since the beginning “.
In his speech Putin devoted a great deal of space to the theme ofenlargement of NATO to the east. “The Americans say that we must not worry about Ukraine’s entry into NATO and that it will take time for this to happen. The United States – Putin continued – has not ruled out enlargement, if it respects certain conditions. So the time will come. accession and then NATO will no longer be a defensive alliance. We are the target of NATO missiles. The missiles can easily reach Moscow, it would take thirty seconds, just as they have done over the years by deploying these weapons ever closer to the our frontier ignoring our concerns. They have done nothing but what they wanted, I disagree with this and I never will be. Why make enemies of us? I myself, as soon as I became president, asked to let Russia join NATO . It is not a question of the regime, they do not want such a large country to exist and that it is powerful, that’s all. It has always been American policy. The West tries again to blackmail the R ussia with sanctions, regardless of the situation in Ukraine, the goal is the same: to curb the development of Russia “.
The response of the EU leaders to Putin’s words is tough. In a joint communiqué issued tonight in Brussels, the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, and the President of the Commission Ursula von der Leyen“strongly condemn the Russian president’s decision to proceed with the recognition of areas not controlled by the government of the ‘Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts’ in Ukraine as independent entities. This step – underline the two presidents – constitutes a clear violation of the law and the Minsk agreements. The Union – warn Michel and von der Leyen – will react with sanctions against those involved in this illegal act. The Union reiterates its firm support for independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders “.
The American president, Joe Biden, has convened the National Security Council to the White House to discuss the situation in Ukraine.
“I have discussed the events of the last few hours with US President Joe Biden,” he said on Twitter Ukrainian president, Volodymir Zelensky, after the signing of the decree for the recognition of the self-proclaimed republics of Donbass by Russian President Vladimir Putin on live TV. Zelensky has announced that he will also have a interview with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
In Italy many parties ask the Prime Minister Mario Draghi to report urgently to Parliament on the situation. A request that, according to what filters from Palazzo Chigi, finds the prime minister’s availability.