The Kremlin on Monday said Russian President Vladimir Putin will recognize as independent two breakaway territories in eastern Ukraine, multiple outlets reported.
The move is likely to set up a confrontation with Kyiv and its Western allies, which are poised to push back on potential large-scale Russian military aggression.
The Kremlin said in a statement Putin intends to sign a decree recognizing the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic, which are in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region, as independent, according to The New York Times. The Kremlin further said the Russian president received pushback from the leaders in France and Germany over the decision during a phone call.
“The president of France and the Federal Chancellor of Germany expressed their disappointment with this development. At the same time, they indicated their readiness to continue contacts,” the Kremlin said in a statement.
The move follows Putin presiding over a public and highly choreographed meeting of the Russian National Security Council where members expressed near unanimity for the Kremlin to recognize the territories as independent.
The Russian president said he had convened the meeting in response to requests from the self-declared leaders of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions requesting Moscow recognize their independence, and a resolution passed in the Russian State Duma supporting Moscow conferring independence.
The Biden administration had earlier warned against Putin making such a move, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken saying the U.S. would impose a “swift and firm response” if the Kremlin recognized independence and that it would be viewed as a rejection of the Minsk agreements, a diplomatic framework established in 2015 aimed at ending the fighting between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatists in the Donbas, where an estimated 15,000 people have been killed.
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JUST IN: Putin to recognize independence of Ukraine breakaway regions https://t.co/okzCME4kV1 pic.twitter.com/ZvSxTjAHX4
— The Hill (@thehill) February 21, 2022German chancellor condemns Putin plans to recognize breakaway regions in Ukraine https://t.co/TsrW3v6X8J pic.twitter.com/92hhbngLfj
— The Hill (@thehill) February 21, 2022
Well there's another escalation. Putin advised to recognize Donetsk and Lugansk republics on their pre-2014 borders – so including cities like Slovyansk, Mariupol and Kramatorsk that are currently under Ukrainian control…
— Mark MacKinnon (@markmackinnon) February 21, 2022
This is v clearly moving in the direction of recognising the DNR and LNR, which by the way the Russian ambassador to the US explicitly ruled out happening a full 24 hours ago. What else would happen on top of that, and whether DNR/LNR in current or "desired" boundaries, unclear.
— Shaun Walker (@shaunwalker7) February 21, 2022
Voilà https://t.co/MQQXDkzWOV
— Bruno Tertrais (@BrunoTertrais) February 21, 2022
Bizarre moment.
Head of Russia's foreign intelligence agency gets flustered as Putin asks him if he supports Russia recognising the separatist regions.
"I support the annexation of the regions into Russia!"
Putin laughs and says "we're not talking about that". [Clearly we are.] https://t.co/WMEVtHIYUY— Patrick Reevell (@Reevellp) February 21, 2022
Confirmed: the developments in Russia this morning are bat sh*t bonkers. https://t.co/dY6G6SH9QA
— Gillian Turner (@GillianHTurner) February 21, 2022
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday recognized as independent two breakaway territories in eastern Ukraine, marking a sharp escalation in tensions between Moscow and the West. https://t.co/AXGqzKNysn pic.twitter.com/eXJVWJosY2
— The Hill (@thehill) February 21, 2022
So, the plan seems:
1. Recognize LPR/DPR as independent
2. They then ask for "assistance"
3. RU claims UKR is attacking these independent areas with NATO backing them
4. Launch war
5. ???— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) February 21, 2022
This address from Putin is full of grievance. This is not the President of a major power, this is a dictator with nuclear weapons locking himself in the bathroom and yelling that everyone thinks he's fat – just before setting the house on fire.
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) February 21, 2022
Putin says, “We have every reason to say it’s Bolsheviks and Vladimir Lenin that created Ukraine.”
He decried Ukraine’s decommunization and toppling of Lenin monuments.
“We are ready to show you what actual decommunization would mean for Ukraine.“
— Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) February 21, 2022
Putin, I am not kidding, is blaming Bill Clinton for not letting Russia into NATO.
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) February 21, 2022The Russia Today chyrons during Putin’s rant are really something. pic.twitter.com/WqDFu6gHn5
— Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) February 21, 2022
This really is early 1980s Cold War stuff. And I lived through that once already. https://t.co/FX5eRMiiXC
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) February 21, 2022
Putin: "The West ignored our demands…now they're trying to blackmail us, again threatening sanctions, which they will adopt in any case. There's one goal, to contain Russia's development…just because we exist, & we won't compromise our sovereignty" pic.twitter.com/mB3Hl3AVqo
— Alec Luhn (@ASLuhn) February 21, 2022
Putin: They're gonna sanction us anyway.
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) February 21, 2022
Jesus, and he is *still* going on.
Remember when I said I was worried that he's losing his marbles?
That.
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) February 21, 2022
This was a particularly unnerving segment of the speech, as it seemed to suggest he would soon have the power to do that. https://t.co/mSJiXYA9du
— Paul Sonne (@PaulSonne) February 21, 2022
For folks on pretext watch, this is it https://t.co/lr1o4DqyUA
— Pwn All The Things (@pwnallthethings) February 19, 2022
Georgia – 2008/ Ukraine – 2022. Putin did not even have to write a new decree. pic.twitter.com/MGnroOo4Ta
— Alona Shkrum (@Aly_shkrum) February 21, 2022
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