dpa (German press agency) – translated by Theresa Zettl
Russia responded to the overthrow of an elected pro-Russian government in Kiev in 2014 by annexing the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea. It also supports pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country, against whom Kiev has been taking military action since 2014. According to UN estimates, more than 14,000 people have died as a result.
With agreements signed in 2014 and 2015 in the Belarusian capital Minsk, a quartet of Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine is trying to end the conflict. With Russia’s recognition of the separatist regions of Donetsk and Luhansk as independent states and the announced deployment of Russian soldiers to eastern Ukraine, the conflict is taking on a new dimension.
The separatists claim the territory of the entire Donetsk and Luhansk regions, but most of it is under the control of the Ukrainian army. The separatist leader in Donetsk, Denis Pushilin, reiterated this position: “The constitutions of the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic state the borders of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions,” he said on Russian state television. “Further steps will be shown by time.”
Ukraine – like the West – continues to see Luhansk and Donetsk as parts of its territory. “In the event of recognition, Russia will de facto and de jure withdraw from the Minsk agreements with all their attendant consequences,” Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba had said after the parliamentary decision.
The peace plan of Minsk, the capital of Belarus, agreed under Franco-German mediation in 2015, provides for the reintegration of the pro-Russian separatist areas into Ukraine with far-reaching autonomy. The peace plan is not currently being implemented.
The recognition came amid days of ongoing fighting in the conflict zone. Both sides last spoke of several deaths. They blamed each other for the flare-up of violence.
Author Profile
-
Co-Founder of European Liberals for Reform
Chairperson of ELfR Working Group Health
ALDE Individual Members Steering Committee Member (2022-2023)
Social Media & Digital Marketing Expert, Blogger
Favorite Topics: Health, Society, LGBTQI
Latest entries
Elections13/04/2022Presidential elections in France 2022
Human Rights22/03/2022ELfR to support Manifesto for inclusive gender-based violence law
EU07/03/2022Five possible scenarios for the outcome of the Ukraine war
Ukraine06/03/2022ELfR starts petition to nominate Volodymyr Zelenski for Sakharov Prize
Post Disclaimer
The opinions expressed by the author of this post do not necessarily represent the opinions and policies of ELfR.
