JTFMax!
Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered troops into separatist-held parts of eastern Ukraine in what the Kremlin called a "peacekeeping" mission, simply hours after he signed decrees recognizing the self-reliance of the Moscow-backed regions.
It is unclear if Russian troop motions marked the beginning of an invasion of Ukraine that Western leaders have warned about for weeks. Instead, multiple US and Western authorities cautioned Monday's relocation might serve as the opening salvo of a more extensive military operation targeting the nation.
Putin blasted Kyiv's growing security ties with the West in a fiery speech on Monday night. In lengthy remarks about the history of the USSR and the formation of the Ukrainian Socialist Soviet Republic, it appeared to call into question Ukraine's right to self-determination.
" Ukraine has never had customs of its own statehood," he stated, calling the eastern part of the country "ancient Russian lands."
The decrees signed by Putin conveyed Moscow's supreme recognition over two breakaway territories in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine-- the Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic (DPR and LPR). The decrees acknowledged them as independent states and ensured their security with Russian soldiers. In addition, the decrees said that Russian so-called peacekeeping forces would safeguard the regions.
A senior United States administration member said the speech was simple to "justify war" to the Russian people and that it amounted to "an attack on the real concept of an independent and sovereign Ukraine" utilizing "several false claims" indicated to justify military action.
"The human costs of a further Russian intrusion and occupation will be devastating," the experts said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the nation early Tuesday, stating Russia's actions breach the country's "nationwide stability and sovereignty" and Ukraine's worldwide borders will "stay as such."
"We are on our land. We are not scared of anything and anyone. We do not owe anything to anyone, and we will not give away anything to anybody. And we are positive of this," Zelensky stated in his video address.
He said Ukraine had initiated an emergency meeting with the Normandy Four, including Germany, Russia, and France.