The Security Council holding an emergency meeting on Ukraine on Monday. PHOTO: UN Photo/Evan Schneider
Moscow/Washington/Beijing/Geneva/New York: The President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin signed executive orders recognising the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics as sovereign and independent states on February 21, 2021. Putin and Head of the DPR Denis Pushilin signed a Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance between the Russian Federation and the Donetsk People’s Republic. The President of Russia and Head of the LPR Leonid Pasechnik signed a Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance between the Russian Federation and the Lugansk People’s Republic. Among other things, the treaty stipulates that “the Parties intend to collaborate in the area of foreign policy, in the matter of defending sovereignty and territorial integrity and ensuring security, among other things by rendering any necessary assistance to the other, including military assistance, as well as providing the right to build, use or improve military infrastructure and military bases on their territory”.
The move has furthered the possibility of a war in Ukraine. In Washington, the White House said the United States’s President Joe Biden was scheduled to provide an update on Ukraine later today.
Moreover, late Monday night (February 21, 2022) the United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting following a request from Ukraine.
Ukrainian Ambassador Sergei Kislitsa told the UNSC: “The United Nations is sick. That’s a matter of fact. It’s been hit by the virus spread by Kremlin,” He went on to say that Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders have been and will remain unchangeable “regardless of any statements and actions by the Russian Federation,” and added: “We are on our land. We owe nothing to anyone. And we will not give away anything to anyone. We are not afraid of anything or anyone.”
In response, Russian Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya said he would not react but instead concentrate on “how to avoid war.”
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In New York, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who was planning to make an official visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but in light of the deteriorating situation regarding Ukraine, cancelled the mission. According to his office, Guterres considered Russia’s decision to be “a violation of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine and inconsistent with the principles of the Charter of the United Nations”.
Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, further told journalists that the Secretary-General was greatly concerned with the latest reports of increased ceasefire violations, including the use of heavy weapons across the contact line in Eastern Ukraine.
“We are particularly concerned regarding reports of civilian casualties, targeting of critical civilian infrastructure and evacuations. We underline our call for an immediate cessation of hostilities, maximum restraint and for all parties to avoid any actions and statements that would escalate tensions further. All issues must be addressed through diplomacy,” Dujarric said.
Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov reacted sharply to Guterres’s remarks, and today told an interviewer that “Our colleagues at the UN Secretariat should act in accordance with UN decisions that are fundamental for the implementation of the principles and goals of the UN Charter. They have been adopted unanimously by consensus, that is, by all the UN member states without exception.” He added: ” I would like the leadership of the UN Secretariat to review the fundamental principles underlying the UN in accordance with the decisions of the member states before making any statements.”
Earlier, in Washington, a White House release stated that “President Putin’s action contradicts Russia’s commitments under the Minsk agreements, refutes Russia’s claimed commitment to diplomacy, and undermines Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”. It added that “Russia continues to escalate this crisis that it created in the first place. We’ll continue to pursue diplomacy until the tanks roll, but we are under no illusions about what is likely to come next. And we are prepared to respond decisively when it does”.
Lavrov though stated, “The Ukrainian regime trampled down the Minsk agreements.”
Meanwhile, the United States President Joe Biden signed an executive order “to impose costs for President Putin’s action to recognize so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics” as independent states. Senior administration officials in Washington said the US will take further measures soon to hold Russia accountable for this clear violation of international law and Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as of Russia’s own international commitments.
The US President’s executive order prohibits:
- New investment in the so-called DNR or LNR regions of Ukraine by a United States person, wherever located;
- The importation into the United States, directly or indirectly, of any goods, services, or technology from the so-called DNR or LNR regions of Ukraine;
- The exportation, reexportation, sale, or supply, directly or indirectly, from the United States, or by a United States person, wherever located, of any goods, services, or technology to the so-called DNR or LNR regions of Ukraine;
- And any approval, financing, facilitation, or guarantee by a United States person, wherever located, of a transaction by a foreign person where the transaction by that foreign person would be covered by these prohibitions if performed by a United States person or within the United States.
“The United States will not hesitate to use its authorities to target those supporting efforts to undermine Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. This authority provides the United States with the flexibility to impose similar restrictions on any other regions of Ukraine as appropriate,” the White House stated.
Yesterday, Russian President Putin, in a speech said that “the nationalists who have seized power” in Ukraine had unleashed “persecution, a real terror campaign against those who opposed their anti-constitutional” actions. Putin went on to say that a wave of violence had swept Ukrainian cities, including a series of high-profile and unpunished murders. “One shudders at the memories of the terrible tragedy in Odessa, where peaceful protesters were brutally murdered, burned alive in the House of Trade Unions. The criminals who committed that atrocity have never been punished, and no one is even looking for them. But we know their names and we will do everything to punish them, find them and bring them to justice,” he said.
Today, Russian foreign ministry went on to justify Putin’s decision to recognise Donetsk and Lugansk as independent states, claiming that “this was the only possible solution, albeit quite a challenging one”.
Russia claimed that the leaders and people from these two republics appealed to the Russian President to recognise them. The members of the Russian Federation Federal Assembly’s State Duma raised the same question in their appeal to the President of the Russian Federation.
According to the Russian foreign ministry, the President of Russia took this decision “primarily on humanitarian grounds and to protect civilians in DPR and LPR, including hundreds of thousands of Russian nationals, from the real threat to their lives and security posed by the current Ukrainian regime, which persists in its attempts to resolve the “Donbass issue” by force”.
Russia described the present government in Ukraine as “anti-Constitutional” which came to power exactly eight years ago following a bloody coup in Kiev with the West’s active support. He said these radical nationalists who formed the government in Ukraine started imposing their law on the country, fighting the Russian language and dissent, promoting an alien ideology, glorifying Nazi accomplices, rewriting history, and turning Ukrainian territory into a NATO bridgehead against Russia. “People in Donbass did not agree with this policy and stood up for their legitimate rights and interests. Held on May 11, 2014, two referendums resulted in the proclamation of the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics,” he said, and claimed that instead of seeking to reconcile with its fellow Ukrainians by political means, Kiev launched a punitive military operation against them, which amounted to unleashing a civil war. “All these years, the DPR and LPR have been living under artillery and mortar fire. Thousands of innocent people, including children, died, and tens of thousands were wounded. Donbass faced an all-out transport and economic blockade, and its residents no longer received pensions or social benefits. These actions were nothing short of a genocide against Ukraine’s own people,” it stated. Russia claimed of a sharp escalation along the entire line of contact. “Once again, there are reports of multiple ceasefire violations with shells destroying civilian homes, schools, and other civilian infrastructure facilities. People in these republics faced the threat of direct physical annihilation by the Kiev authorities. It became obvious that for Kiev, Donbass is a territory rather than people living there. Against this backdrop, recognising the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics was the only solution Russia felt compelled to take. It will guarantee the right of the DPR and LPR residents to live in peace and protect their legitimate rights and interests,” it said.
Meanwhile, China said today that it was closely monitoring the evolving situation in Ukraine. Today morning, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi had a phone conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken upon invitation. Yi expounded China’s position on the Ukraine issue in the conversation.
“The situation in Ukraine is getting worse. China once again calls on all parties to exercise restraint, appreciate the importance of implementing the principle of indivisible security, and de-escalate the situation and resolve differences through dialogue and negotiation,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin told reporters in Beijing. It may be recalled that throughout this period of uncertainty, China has never criticised Russia and yesterday Wenbin had stated: “I would like to stress that as permanent members of the UN Security Council and responsible major powers, China and Russia are both committed to forging a new type of international relations and a community with a shared future for mankind. Both champion equity, good faith, cooperation and rule of law. Both stand for non-alliance, non-confrontation and non-targeting any third party.”
In Geneva, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet stated today that following the decision announced by Putin last night on Ukraine, “I am deeply concerned that any significant escalation in military action creates a heightened risk of serious human rights violations as well as violations of international humanitarian law”.
Bachelet said that at this critical juncture, the priority, above all, must be to prevent a further escalation, to prevent civilian casualties, displacement and destruction of civilian infrastructure. “I call on all sides to cease hostilities and to pave the way for dialogue instead of setting the stage for further violence,” she said.
– global bihari bureau
