Jakarta, CNN Indonesia —
Two cities in the far east Ukraine, Donetsk and Luhansk became the world’s attention when it declared its independence in 2014. The two regions want to become independent republics.
Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv was tense. Especially when Russian President Vladimir Putin openly expressed his support for the independence of Donetsk-Luhansk.
Putin also sent troops to help separatist groups in the two regions confront the government’s military. Some citizens of Donetsk and Luhansk declared the Republic of Donetsk and Luhansk through a referendum.
If we look back, the seeds of Donetsk and Luhansk separatism were already there when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. Differences in political views make the citizens of Donetsk and Luhansk often choose a different presidential candidate compared to other regions in Ukraine.
The statue of the founder of the Soviet Union Vladimir Lenin as high as 13.5 meters that still stands in Lenin Square, downtown Donetsk, is also an indication that there is a personal closeness of local residents with Russia.
Pro-Russian President Triggers Riots in Ukraine
In 2010, a pro-Russian politician and former governor of the Donetsk region, Viktor Yanukovych, was elected president. But it is not unity, but enmity that comes to the surface.
A series of massive demonstrations in Kyiv occurred in the winter of 2013-2014. The protesters’ main demand is for Yanukovych to step down from office for rejecting Ukraine’s relations with the European Union.
As many as 130 people died during the protests. A depressed Yanukovych chose to leave for Russia. At the same time, the Ukrainian Parliament agreed to remove Yanukovych.
The vacancy in the Ukrainian government was used by Putin to seize Crimea, a peninsula in southern Ukraine that is a strategic port location.
Meanwhile, residents of Donetsk and Luhansk held a referendum on secession on May 11, 2014. As a result, the majority of residents of the two regions wanted to separate from Ukraine.
However, the United Nations does not recognize the referendum as part of democracy. As a result, citizens who had declared themselves separated from Ukraine inaugurated the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and the Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR).
The beginning of Ukraine’s approach to NATO, read on the next page…
Ukraine’s Beginning to Approach NATO
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