Putin grotesquely: With this signature he wants to legitimize Russia's invasion of Ukraine

Created: 02/21/2022, 22:17

By: Maximilian Kettenbach

Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, signs a document recognizing the independence of the separatist areas in eastern Ukraine.

Putin has recognized the two regions of Luhansk and Donetsk in eastern Ukraine as independent "people's republics".

© Photo: Alexei Nikolsky/Pool Sputnik Kremlin/AP/dpa

In a TV speech, Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized the separatist areas in eastern Ukraine - provocatively with a signature in front of running cameras.

Moscow - It is the next escalation in the Ukraine conflict that Russia's President Vladimir Putin will determine from the Kremlin on Monday evening.

In an emotional speech, Putin declared that he would recognize the pro-Russian separatist areas in eastern Ukraine.

Provocatively sovereign, he signed a friendship agreement with the self-declared "People's Republics" on Monday evening.

To what extent the validity is, or what it may mean in concrete terms, is still completely unclear in the evening.

“Russia has done everything to preserve the territorial unity of Ukraine.

Everything was for nothing.

The regime's aggressive nationalist character is not changing, it is a product of the 2014 state coup. Therefore, I see no other option but to make the decision that has been looming for a long time.

I will recognize the independence of Donetsk and Luhansk,” Putin said in the speech, which was broadcast live on TV.

Those who had seized power in Kiev are now being asked to "stop the war immediately".

Otherwise, "responsibility for the bloodshed will lie with the Ukrainian regime."

What appears to have been planned well in advance was seen by the West as a unilateral violation of the Minsk Agreement.

Meanwhile, in eastern Ukraine, at least three people died as a result of shelling by pro-Russian militias.

"Declaration of war": Germany reacts furiously to Putin's Ukraine decision

FDP politician Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann commented on Putin's speech and described the recognition of Donetsk and Luhansk as a "declaration of war", as she wrote on Twitter on Monday evening.

"He recognizes the so-called 'people's republics' in eastern Ukraine and openly threatens war if they do not voluntarily give up their own territories," said the defense policy spokeswoman for the FDP parliamentary group.

"He is breaking the Minsk Agreement and denying Ukraine's existence."

Putin after signing: "You betrayed us"

Putin even went a step further in his speech and questioned the entire territory of Ukraine.

According to Putin, there has never been stable statehood in Ukraine.

In his speech, the Russian President also explained his view of history at length.

"You betrayed us," he said to the West, making it clear that he rejected NATO's eastward expansion and saw an anti-Russian threat.

The sanctions of the West would come anyway, said Putin and made it clear that he would accept them.

According to the Kremlin, Putin had informed Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and French President Emmanuel Macron in advance of his decision to recognize the self-proclaimed "People's Republics".

Scholz and Macron had expressed "their disappointment" about it.

The federal government has condemned Russia's recognition of the separatist areas in eastern Ukraine as a "blatant breach of international law".

"We call on Russia to reverse the decision and return to the path of diplomatic and political conflict resolution," said Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) on Monday evening.

She warned Russia "explicitly against further military escalation".

Reactions to Putin's speech: Russia sanctions in the Ukraine conflict

The EU announced sanctions after Moscow recognized the autonomy of Luhansk and Donetsk.

EU Council President Charles Michel and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen condemned Putin's decision "in the most resolute way".

The step is a "blatant violation of international law as well as the Minsk agreements".

"The Union will react with sanctions against those involved in this illegal act," said the two EU leaders together in Brussels.

The USA also announced severe sanctions.

A representative of the White House also said in the evening (CET) that US President Joe Biden was meeting his national security team and being kept up to date on developments in Russia and Ukraine.

According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, he discussed Moscow's actions in a telephone call with Biden and convened the National Security Council.