Putin recognizes independence for renegade regions of Ukraine | Abroad

The decision will be made official by decree ‘in the near future’. The move will allow the Russians to openly support the rebels in the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics in their fight against the Ukrainian government in Kiev. The chance of unity thus seems further than ever.

All members of the Russian Security Council support the recognition of independence. Moscow is adding fuel to the Ukraine crisis by recognizing the rebel republics. Russia wants to prevent Ukraine from joining the Western military alliance NATO. This is almost unthinkable in a torn country.

The Kremlin reports that Putin has communicated his decision to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron. They have expressed their disappointment, according to the Kremlin. Scholz also warned against the recognition in the telephone conversation and said that this step violates the so-called Minsk agreements, his own spokesperson reports.

In 2014, the Russians took over the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, which was subsequently annexed. In the same year, civil war broke out in eastern Ukraine. Pro-Russian separatists have been fighting the government army there ever since.

Leaders of those regions had pushed for recognition from Moscow. The rebels’ call comes almost a week after the Russian parliament approved an appeal over the two self-declared people’s republics. He asked Putin to recognize the regions as independent states. The Kremlin then said the president had to take a stand. Putin has also emphasized that he has no intention of annexing the regions.

Minsk chords

Last week, Ukraine reacted negatively to any recognition. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba sees this move as proof that Moscow is withdrawing from the Minsk accords. In 2015, agreements were made for the de-escalation of the conflict in Eastern Ukraine. The warring parties agreed, among other things, to a ceasefire.

The civil war in eastern Ukraine began in 2014 and has claimed the lives of some 15,000 people. The conflict has flared up again last week after both sides accused each other of shelling. Donetsk has called on all able-bodied men to report for military service to fight against the Ukrainian army. Some 70,000 people have also been evacuated to Russia.

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The European Union must impose punitive measures on Russia now that it recognizes the pro-Russian separatist republics in eastern Ukraine as independent, the union’s foreign affairs chief said. According to him, the sanctions are ready and he will present them to the EU countries, says Josep Borrell.

Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra previously called the recognition of Donetsk and Luhansk unacceptable, but did not want to threaten punishment. The EU should only talk about this when the time has come, he said just before the Russian decision, after consultation with Borrell and his fellow ministers. Hoekstra also did not want to confirm that the sanction package is already ready, but only that “we have come a long way.”

On Monday, the EU imposed new sanctions for Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea. Five men who are part of the now Russian administration on the Ukrainian peninsula are no longer allowed to enter the union. If they have deposited capital in the EU, they can no longer access it. The sanctions affect three persons elected on behalf of Crimea to the Russian parliament and the leadership of the electoral council responsible for the election.

These sanctions have nothing to do with the current tensions, says Brussels. Hoekstra hopes that Russia will conclude “that it is serious.”

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