From Kyiv
Vladimir Putin recognized independence on Monday of the Donetsk People’s Republic (also known as DNR by its Russian initials) and the Luhansk People’s Republic (LNR). What’s more, ordered the deployment of Russian troops in that territory.
What are the Donetsk and Luhansk Republics?
They are two provinces in the east of Ukraine in which pro-Russian militants took control and proclaimed their independence in 2014. Since then, they are at war with the Kiev government.
Until now, no country (not even Russia) had recognized its independence.
Source: Open Street Maps
The conflict has developed into a kind of “permanent stalemate”: the front has hardly moved during the last 8 years.
Even so, more than 15,000 people have lost their lives and around 1 million civilians have fled the region: some to Russia and others to Kiev, western Ukraine or Poland.
Why didn’t Russia annex Donetsk and Luhansk in 2014 like it did with Crimea?
Crimea had a much more important symbolic value and strategic value for Russia than that of Donbass.
First of all, the Kremlin regarded Crimea as a territory that historically belonged to Russia. That the peninsula was controlled by a capital other than Moscow was considered a “mistake that should be repaired”.
In addition, in Crimea there is the Sevastopol naval base, the most important port of the Russian Navy on the Black Sea (and therefore its main outlet to the Mediterranean).
Why hadn’t Russia recognized Donetsk and Lugansk as independent republics until now?
The official position of the Kremlin until Monday was that Donetsk and Lugansk were part of Ukraine.although the government in Kiev was supposed to grant them a special status with “veto power” on some issues such as the possible future integration of Ukraine into NATO.
Is this the first time that Russia has recognized the independence of countries that are not recognized by the international community?
No.
In 2008, Russia also recognized the Republic of Abkhazia and the Republic of South Ossetia, which were part of the territory of Georgia. Since then, those governments have received economic and military support from Moscow.
What are the consequences of Russia now deploying its military troops in that territory?
Putin’s decision to send Russian troops to the Donbass leaves the Kiev government in a very delicate situation: from now on the Ukrainian army is not facing “rebels supported by Moscow” but directly against the Russian Armed Forces.
If the exchange of artillery continues as it has for the last 8 years, sooner or later the Kiev government would be responsible for killing Russian soldiers. And with the tens of thousands of troops that Moscow has stationed on Ukraine’s northern, southern and eastern borders, large-scale conflict could break out at the least expected moment.
*From the Spanish newspaper Publicspecial for Page 12.