China News Service, February 22 (Xinhua) According to a comprehensive report, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an order on the evening of the 21st to recognize the "Donetsk People's Republic" and "Luhansk People's Republic" in eastern Ukraine.
U.S. President Biden condemned this and has announced the first batch of sanctions against Russia.
According to reports, according to the Russian President's website, members of the Russian Federation Security Council held a meeting on the 21st on the situation in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine.
Putin then made a national televised speech saying that he signed the order on the recognition of the "Donetsk People's Republic" and the "Luhansk People's Republic", as well as the treaty of friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance between Russia and the two "republics" respectively.
Earlier in the day, Putin spoke by phone with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Scholz, informing him that he was about to sign an order on the recognition of the "Donetsk People's Republic" and "Luhansk People's Republic".
Macron and Scholz expressed disappointment at the development, while expressing their willingness to keep in touch on relevant issues.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on social media that he had discussed with the White House what had happened in the past few hours.
And convened the National Security and Defense Council.
In addition, talks with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson are also planned.
The United States, Britain and France have called for an immediate meeting of the UN Security Council on the situation in Ukraine.
U.S. President Biden condemned Russia's move, and the United States has announced the first batch of sanctions against Russia.
British Foreign Secretary Truss said Moscow's recognition of the "independence" of the Ukrainian region was an "attack on Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity" and marked the end of the Minsk agreement.
The British government confirmed it would announce sanctions on Russia in response to Putin's statement.
Sanctions are expected to go further if the "invasion" occurs.
In April 2014, a large-scale armed conflict between Ukrainian government forces and local civilian armed forces broke out in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine.
Civilian armed forces subsequently announced the establishment of the "Donetsk People's Republic" and "Luhansk People's Republic".
Through the mediation of the international community, the two parties to the conflict reached a ceasefire agreement in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, in September 2014 and February 2015 respectively. Since then, large-scale armed conflicts have been brought under control, but small-scale exchanges of fire have occurred from time to time.
On the 18th of this month, the eastern Ukrainian civilian armed forces announced that they would evacuate local residents to Russia on a large scale from now on due to the danger of Ukraine launching a military operation.
The government of the southern Russian state of Rostov announced on the 19th that it has entered a state of emergency from today due to the continuous increase in the number of refugees from the eastern part of Ukraine.