Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized Luhansk and Donetsk, self-proclaimed independent rebel regions in Ukraine, as independent on February 21. In two official decrees, Putin instructed the Russian defence ministry to assume “the function of maintaining peace” in the two breakaway eastern regions.
The west had warned Russia for not recognizing the two eastern regions as independent territories, a move that could jeopardize the fragile peace process in Europe. Putin’s announcement allowed the Russian forces to openly send troops and weapons in the long-running conflict between the Ukrainian forces and the Moscow-backed rebels. Kremlin has also acquired the right to build military instalments in the eastern regions following an agreement with the rebel leaders. The two parties are also expected to sign any agreements on military cooperation and protection of the borders.
In an address aired on the national news media, Vladimir Putin said that I have signed the referendums to recognize the two regions as independent. He asked the Russian parliament to sign the referendums into the law. He also said that I expect the Russian public to accept and respect this decision.
Putin has said on multiple forums that he considers Ukraine an inseparable part of Russia. He said all this at a time when a conflict is brewing on the border between Russia and Ukraine. Russia has amassed a large number of troops on the border, a move that has alarmed the west that an invasion might be imminent.
Their independence, recognized by Russia in the said two decrees, is not recognized by the international community.
The two self-proclaimed rebel republics of Donetsk and Luhansk are located in the rust belt in eastern Ukraine and escaped Kyiv’s control in 2014. Since then more than 14,000 people have been killed in the fighting between the Ukrainian forces and the rebel groups.
The regions have been locked in a long-running conflict with Kyiv’s army since a Kremlin-backed uprising in the region following the Russian invasion of Crimea in 2014. Kyiv and the west say that Russia supplied arms and weapons through the border to the rebel groups to bolster them.
The efforts to resolve the conflict and bring peace in the eastern Ukraine, laid down in the 2015 Minsk Agreement, have not borne any fruit yet. Both sides, Kyiv and the rebels have frequently accused each other of breaches.
A series of ceasefires have been fallen through due to repeated violations by the belligerents.