Putin | Public address on the recognition of the independence of Donetsk and Lugansk by the Russian Federation

Defence Redefined

22/02/2022

Russia will recognize the independence of the two self-proclaimed regions in eastern Ukraine, Vladimir Putin said during his speech on the Ukraine crisis.

The decision will be made immediately. Putin will ask the parliament to support this decision, he added, and complained that 4 million people are subject to genocide. Russian state television broadcast footage of the Russian president signing a decree recognizing the independence of the two self-proclaimed regions.

“I consider it necessary to make this decision, which has been ripe for a long time: to immediately recognize the independence of the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic,” he said.

The Russian head of state said he was confident that he had the support of Russian citizens for his decision. Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin denounced during his address on the Ukraine crisis that US drones were constantly spying on Russia.

He argued that the whole situation is a cover for the rapid deployment of NATO troops in Ukraine. In fact, Ukraine’s accession to NATO is a direct threat to Russia’s security, according to him. At the same time, he said that NATO training centers in Ukraine are equivalent to military bases. “We were promised that NATO would not be expanded,” he said. But the opposite happened. As Putin pointed out, we have seen five waves of NATO expansion recently.

We understand, he added, that further expansion of NATO is a matter of time. “After all, the risk of a sudden blow against our country will increase rapidly if NATO expands,” Putin said, adding that the main platform for a blow against Russia would be Ukraine. Russia, however, has always supported the diplomatic route to resolve the issues, the Russian head of state assured.

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The United States is deploying new offensive missiles, he complained, adding that NATO has completely ignored their concerns. Russia’s demands for security have been rejected, Putin said. After all, according to Vladimir Putin, the West will impose sanctions on Russia anyway. The ground for sanctions will be found or invented and will have nothing to do with Ukraine, he argued. In this context, Russia has the right to take countermeasures. “Russia has every right to protect its security and that is what we are doing,” he said.

Vladimir Putin said that we will never give up our sovereignty and national values. Instead, he argued that the Ukrainian leadership has repeatedly said it does not want to abide by the Minsk peace agreement in eastern Ukraine. “Ukrainian forces are bombing civilian areas in Donbas killing civilians,” Putin said.

Immediately after the signing of the recognition of the independence of Lugansk and Donetsk, Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed the Ministry of Defence to deploy Russian “peacekeeping forces” in the two self-proclaimed regions of eastern Ukraine.

Source: CNA

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