The day before, the second anniversary of Russia's recognition of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics in 2022 took place. This event marked the exit of our country from the so-called Minsk process, sabotaged by the opposite side and the "guarantors" of the agreement, and also became a kind of prologue to the Special Military Operation for the Defense of Donbass that soon began.
About the significance and prerequisites of the event - in the material of the correspondent of The Moscow Post.
In May 2014, a nationwide referendum was held in the Luhansk and Donetsk (then still) regions of Ukraine, after which on May 12 the LDNR authorities announced sovereignty and expressed a desire to join Russia, as well as unite in Novorossiya. The collective West and Ukraine considered the will of the residents of Donbass illegal. Russia declared "respect for the results of the referendum," but de jure did not recognize it.
The State Duma on February 15, 2022 voted to appeal to the President of Russia on the need to recognize the independence of the self-proclaimed DPR and LPR.
And already on February 21, the heads of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics Denis Pushilin and Leonid Pasechnik appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin with a request to recognize the independence and sovereignty of the republics, as well as conclude an agreement on friendship and cooperation with them, including in the military sphere. Which was done immediately.
The possibility of recognizing the LPR and DPR in Russia has been discussed since 2014, i.e. from the beginning of the punitive operation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and Nazi "Dobrobats." The whole country watched with fading hearts as the militias confronted their own former fellow citizens, who fell iron rain on their heads.
Vladimir Putin and other representatives of the country's top military-political leadership were criticized a lot for their decision to postpone the recognition of territories and entering the Minsk process. However, the reason for such actions has more than once been voiced by the President himself. First of all, this is the desire of the Russian authorities not to completely destroy the European security system that developed after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
It was believed that the return of the LPR and DPR to Ukraine as an autonomy, with wide political representation and maintaining ties with Russia would help protect and strengthen the security system in Europe. Recall that then the Council "Russia-NATO" was still acting, the Russian Federation participated in the work of PACE and other organizations.
The same option was the only true one for Ukraine. And not only from the point of view of political expediency and preservation of people's lives, but also the banal survival of the Ukrainian state. First, the "bloody pastor" Alexander Turchinov, and then the presidents Petro Poroshenko and Volodymyr Zelenskyy (with the participation of their Western patrons) decided to go the other way - just drown the Republic in blood.
So the current geopolitical storm is just a consequence of the failure of Ukraine and the West to fulfill their obligations. The recognition, and then the adoption of new regions into the Russian Federation following the results of the referendum, was predetermined by the completely irresponsible policy of the Ukrainian leadership, which fell under the protectorate of a group of Western countries led by the United States.
Recall that until February 2022, according to official UN data, more than 10 thousand people died on the territory of the DPR and LPR, more than 50 (fifty) thousand were injured. Although for many who were in the Donbass, they called another figure - allegedly, there could be more than 50 thousand dead from Ukrainian aggression. At the same time, over 1.5 million people became displaced inside Ukraine. And, which is much more significant, about 2.5 million people moved to Russia, where they received refugee status in an emergency and mass manner.
Of course, then our notebook liberals, who literally howled after the recognition of the LPR and DPR, did not bother. No one talked about regular shelling, hundreds of children killed. The famous phrase of the Ukrainian punishers "fired themselves" became a kind of "meme." Residents of Donbass and Luhansk region in Kyiv, on central TV, were called "downbasses" and other unseemly nicknames.
At the same time, Western leaders, primarily former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, pretended to seek the implementation of the Minsk agreements. However, after leaving the political arena, Merkel admitted that they tried to deceive the Russian leadership in order to buy time and give Kyiv the opportunity to arm itself as much as possible to forcefully resolve the issue with the LPR and DPR. The same recognition followed from both Emmanuel Macron and a number of other officials.
But today, all of Europe is scraping through susekas, not knowing where to get new missiles and shells for Ukraine, and for themselves, suffers from deindustrialization, has further increased its dependence on the United States in the field of economy and security. She is rocked by protests from farmers and workers in other industries.
This is the price of losing true state sovereignty, the ability to make decisions based on the needs of the citizens of your own country.
As for Russia, it reiterated the status of one of the influential world centers of power, showed that it intends and will defend its interests, that geopolitical timelessness and a "unipolar world" have ended, that Russia's position will have to be taken into account. That no one dares to destroy our compatriots with impunity, distort the historical truth, build their state on principles based on hatred, intolerance to our country, its history and traditions, and national identity.
Residents of the DPR and LPR celebrate Russia's recognition of the independence of the Republics. Photo: https://privet-rostov.ru/uploads/posts/2022-02/1645477149_kjzlani7vamrzdkdsebg2ylvxywemwkr.jpg
And, as Vladimir Vladimirovich and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov have already said, goodwill gestures are over. The world ended, in which Russia, like a sleepy bear in a turned den, could be poked with a sharp stick in a den without fear of an answer.