Hope, fear and uncertainty on Donetsk streets after Putin move
\n MOSCOW
\nRussian President Vladimir Putin on Monday recognized the independence of separatist regions in eastern Ukraine and paved the way to provide them military support \u2014 a direct challenge to the West that will fuel fears that Russia could imminently invade Ukraine.
\nThe carefully staged move announced in the Kremlin could lead to new sanctions on Russia and flies in the face of European efforts for a diplomatic solution to the escalating crisis, which has brought East-West relations to a new low and jeopardized trade. Britain\u2019s prime minister called it a \u201cbreach of international law.\u201d
\nIt came amid a spike in skirmishes in the eastern regions that Western powers believe Russia could use as a pretext for an attack on the western-looking democracy that has defied Moscow\u2019s attempts to pull it back into its orbit.
\nPutin justified his decision in a far-reaching, pre-recorded speech blaming NATO for the current crisis and calling the US-led alliance an existential threat to Russia. Sweeping through more than a century of history, he painted today\u2019s Ukraine as a modern construct that is inextricably linked to Russia. He charged that Ukraine had inherited Russia\u2019s historic lands and after the Soviet collapse was used by the West to contain Russia.
\nUkrainians shrugged off the move as meaningless, but it remains a fundamental blow to their country eight years after fighting erupted the Donetsk and Luhansk regions between Russia-backed separatists and Ukrainian forces.
\nAfter his speech, Putin signed decrees in the Kremlin recognizing those regions\u2019 independence and called on lawmakers to approve measures paving the way for military support.
\nUntil now, Ukraine and the West have accused Russia of supporting the separatists, but Moscow has denied that, saying that Russians who fought there were volunteers.
\nEuropean leaders had urged Putin to not to recognized the regions\u2019 independence, and the EU foreign policy chief threatened possible sanctions if he did. Ukraine\u2019s president convened an emergency meeting of top security officials.
\nAccording to the Kremlin, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron voiced \u201cdisappointment with such a development\u201d but also \u201creadiness to continue contacts.\u201d
\nMeanwhile, On the streets of the biggest city in Ukraine\u2019s breakaway eastern regions, some residents expressed joy and gratitude on Tuesday over Russia\u2019s decision to recognize their independence, but others were filled with foreboding for what might come next.
\nPresident Vladimir Putin on Monday granted official recognition to the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People\u2019s Republics and signed friendship treaties with their leaders, a step that paves the way for Russia to send in troops and establish military bases.
\nThe West condemned the move as an illegal act that could mark the prelude to a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine and began imposing some sanctions.
\nBut for some in Donetsk, where Moscow-backed separatists have battled Ukrainian government forces in a conflict that Kyiv says has cost 15,000 lives since 2014, it was long overdue.
\n\u201cThis is very important for me. I know that the blood I spilled with my comrades and our labors and efforts and the losses of civilians were not in vain all this time,\u201d said Dmitry, a former member of a pro-Russian separatist militia.
\nHe was looking forward to the arrival of Russian troops as part of the agreements signed on Monday.
\n\u201cThis great people of Donbass have suffered so much, they need it now (Russian troops). They\u2019ve had enough blood, enough death,\u201d he said.
\nA convoy of at least a dozen cars flying large Russian tricolor flags and honking their horns wound its way through the city center. \u201cRussia, hoorah!\u201d shouted one driver.
\nOther residents of Donetsk were trying to go about their lives as normal, walking with children or shopping at the market, a Reuters witness said. A wedding took place at a hotel.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Hope, fear and uncertainty on Donetsk streets after Putin move MOSCOW Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday recognized the independence of separatist regions in eastern Ukraine and paved the way to provide them military support \u2014 a direct challenge to the West that will fuel fears that Russia could imminently invade Ukraine. The carefully staged […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":245998,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[4356,4358,4357,633],"class_list":{"0":"post-245962","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-eastern","9":"tag-recognizes","10":"tag-ukrainian-regions","11":"tag-vladimir-putin"},"yoast_head":"\n