Kremlin: We’ll talk about borders later
Unmarked tanks spotted in Donetsk
02/22/2022, 08:10 am
So now they are rolling: according to eyewitness accounts, tanks and artillery can be seen in the city of Donetsk. According to a media report, “a deployment of armed forces is clearly underway.” The Kremlin, meanwhile, says that the exact borders of the eastern Ukrainian regions still need to be discussed.
Despite Western warnings, Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered troops to be sent to eastern Ukraine. In the early morning, military vehicles rolled through the streets on the outskirts of the city of Donetsk. Among them were several unmarked tanks, as a Reuters employee reported.
Also a correspondent of “Figaro” reports of dozens of Russian tanks and artillery pieces being pulled by trucks and military vehicles. These are said to have been on their way to Donetsk two hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized the independence of the separatist areas. According to the report, many military vehicles were on the roads, some also on the way to the Russian border, near which on Monday evening “a military operation was clearly underway,” as “Figaro” writes.
Putin announced that he would send “peacekeeping forces” to the separatist areas in eastern Ukraine after recognizing the Donetsk and Luhansk regions as independent. The West sharply condemned the recognition.
Meanwhile, Moscow said it was too early to discuss borders. According to Russia, friendship treaties with Luhansk and Donetsk must first be signed before the exact borders of the eastern Ukrainian regions that have been declared independent can be discussed. According to the Russian news agency RIA, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Moscow explains this.
Putin: Ukraine is part of Russia
In a speech that lasted almost an hour, Putin made serious accusations against NATO. The military alliance promised Russia not to expand. The opposite happened. Ukraine’s accession to NATO is a direct threat to Russia’s security. It is clear that further expansion of the alliance is only a matter of time. In such a case, the risk of a sudden attack would increase significantly. In addition, Ukraine is historically part of Russia.
Russian state television showed Putin signing a decree recognizing the self-proclaimed people’s republics in eastern Ukraine. “I consider it necessary to take a decision that should have been taken a long time ago: immediate recognition of the independence and sovereignty of the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics,” Putin said. He accused the Ukrainian leadership of only asking for things that were advantageous to them from Russia without having made any commitments in return.
US President Joe Biden has meanwhile implemented the first sanctions and announced further measures in coordination with the allies. At an emergency UN Security Council meeting, US envoy Linda Thomas-Greenfield called Putin’s claim that they were peacekeepers “nonsense.” Putin’s recognition of the separatist areas is an attempt to create a pretext for another invasion of Ukraine.
You can find out more about the situation in eastern Ukraine in our live ticker on the Russian crisis