The day after the recognition of the independence of the separatist territories of Donetsk and Lugansk, the Russian president brandished the threat of a large-scale war.
A new step in climbing. After asking his army to ” maintain peace » in the secessionist territories of Donetsk and Luhansk whose independence he recognized, Vladimir Putin obtained this Tuesday evening from the Upper House of Parliament the authorization for a military deployment in support of the separatists. NATO now says it expects a “ massive attack “.
But the master of the Kremlin has cast doubt on the timetable for sending armed forces, and calls for a ” demilitarization of Ukraine, which would make better to give up his ambition to join NATO in order to choose the ” neutrality “. ” I did not say that our soldiers will go there, now (…) It will depend, as they say, on the situation on the ground “, he said. Immediately afterwards, Russian diplomacy announced the forthcoming evacuation of its diplomats from Ukraine.
Putin spells out his goals
While maintaining the suspense, the master of the Kremlin affirmed that the Minsk agreements, serving as the basis for a settlement of the conflict in eastern Ukraine, ” no longer existed “. These agreements, signed in 2015 by Russia and Ukraine under Franco-German mediation, aim to return under Ukrainian sovereignty the areas held by the separatists in the regions of Donetsk and Lugansk, in exchange for autonomy. The recognition of their independence renders the agreements obsolete from the Russian point of view.
But for Moscow, the republics Donetsk and Luhansk separatists are no longer confined to territories now held by pro-Russians; they extend to all of the eponymous regions, ” as they were when they were part of Ukraine said Vladimir Putin. These remarks thus open the door to an attempt to take control of the parts of these regions controlled by the Ukrainian authorities, in particular the city of Mariupol, which has more than 400,000 inhabitants. The head of the Kremlin, however, added that the exact route will have to be the subject of ” negotiations between Kiev and the separatists. In the wake of these statements, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced the establishment of diplomatic relations with the two separatist regions, not recognized by the international community.
“The Beginning of an Invasion”
” President Putin no longer honors Russia’s signature “, reacted the French Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian, citing the Charter of Paris of 1990 or the Final Act of Helsinki, as many texts on “ the inviolability of borders, the sovereignty of States, stability in Europe signed by Russia. ” The signature of Russia is also the Minsk Accords, of Putin himself, renewed in the Paris meeting of December of 2019 “, he recalled. ” President Putin no longer honors his own commitments either since he had publicly declared that the hypothesis of a vote by the Duma leading to the recognition of the two Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk was not on the agenda. “, he continued.
In announcing that the regions of Ukraine whose independence Russia has recognized exceed the areas currently controlled by the separatists, Russian President Vladimir Putin is developing justifications to go much further “, for his part estimated the American president Joe Biden in an address to the nation from the White House. ” This is the start of a Russian invasion of Ukraine. »
In response, Joe Biden announced that he had authorized the redeployment of American forces already positioned in Europe to strengthen the Baltic countries, while repeating that he was not giving up hope of finding a diplomatic solution. ” There is no doubt that Russia is the aggressor, so we are aware of the challenges we face “, he said. ” Nevertheless, there is still time to avoid the worst-case scenario that will inflict enormous suffering on millions of people. “.
(With AFP)