Putin Deploys Troops To Breakaway Regions In Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the deployment of Russian troops into two breakaway regions of Ukraine; Luhansk and Donetsk after recognizing their independence.

Gatekeepers News reports that Putin, on Monday night, signed the presidential decree recognising the independence of separatist regions in eastern Ukraine.

The development, which would heighten tensions in the West amid fears of a Russian invasion, comes after a meeting of the presidential Security Council. The meeting paved the way for Russia to openly send troops and weapons to the long-running conflict pitting Ukrainian forces against Moscow-backed rebels.

Putin, in a televised address, described Ukraine as an integral part of Russia’s history and said eastern Ukraine was ancient Russian lands and that he was confident that the Russian people would support his decision.

“I deem it necessary to make a decision that should have been made a long time ago – to immediately recognise the independence and sovereignty of the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic,” Putin said.

Moscow’s move could destroy a last-minute bid for a summit with US President Joe Biden to prevent Russia from invading Ukraine.

US lawmakers, in reaction, said the decree was the White House’s own definition of an “invasion” of the country, asking that the full slate of sanctions be triggered once Russian troops cross into Ukraine.

“With reports that Putin is now sending troops into the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk under the guise of ‘peacekeepers,’ now is not the time for symbolic pinpricks that will serve only to embolden Putin and endanger our friends in Ukraine,” Reps. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) and Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) said in a joint statement.

“Now is the time for President Biden to impose sanctions that strike at the heart of the Russian economy, and permanently end Nord Stream 2 once and for all, as he promised the world he would do,” added the lawmakers, who serve as the top Republicans on the House Foreign Affairs and Armed Services committees, respectively.

Although Russia has denied any plan to attack its neighbour, it has threatened unspecified “military-technical” action unless it receives sweeping security guarantees, including a promise that Ukraine will never join NATO.