Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that consideration should be given to recognizing the separatist regions in eastern Ukraine. The heads of the two breakaway, self-proclaimed people’s republics of Luhansk and Donetsk are demanding that Putin recognize them as independent provinces. The Kremlin meanwhile considers a summit between Putin and his US counterpart Joe Biden on the Ukraine crisis to be “too early”.
Video: ORF correspondent Christian Wehrschütz reports from Ukraine on current developments and the escalation of the conflict.
Invasion approaching?
The pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine called on Putin to recognize their independence in the face of increased armed conflict. “I ask you to recognize the sovereignty and independence of the Luhansk People’s Republic,” rebel leader Leonid Pasechnik said in a video message broadcast on Russian television on Monday. The separatist leader in the self-proclaimed “People’s Republic” of Donetsk, Denis Puschilin, joined the demand. He also called on Moscow to initiate cooperation “in the field of defense”.
The Russian parliament also passed a resolution to Putin last week asking him to recognize the “people’s republics”. Putin had left one decision open. Such a move could pave the way for a Russian military invasion of eastern Ukraine.
Putin and Biden agree to summit
The Kremlin is basically open to a summit between Putin and US President Biden amidst the serious tensions over Ukraine, but at the same time is dampening expectations. “It’s too early to talk about concrete plans to organize any summit,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday in Moscow, according to the Interfax news agency. In principle, however, discussions are possible. Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov confirmed a meeting with his US counterpart Antony Blinken in Geneva on Thursday.
The initiative for the summit came from French President Emmanuel Macron, who had called Putin twice and Biden once on Sunday. The meeting “can only take place if Russia does not invade Ukraine,” it said on Sunday evening from the Élysée Palace. According to the White House, Biden has “in principle” already agreed to a meeting. Ukraine also wants to take part. “Nobody can solve our problem without us,” says the head of Ukraine’s Supreme National Security Council, Oleksiy Danilov. Meanwhile, there have been conflicting reports of alleged saboteurs on Russian soil.
Scholz: “The situation is highly dangerous”
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz wants to call Putin again. The talks will take place later in the afternoon, announced German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit on Monday in Berlin. Scholz had previously telephoned Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP), EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and OSCE Secretary General Helga Schmid. Nehammer then explained: “The situation is extremely dangerous.”
Video: Political scientist Gerhard Mangott comments on the Ukraine crisis in an interview.
According to Western information, Russia has gathered around 150,000 soldiers on the border with neighboring Ukraine. An attack is feared. Moscow has been vehemently denying this for weeks.
In the past few days, the situation in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions had deteriorated. International observers had recently spoken of a massive increase in violations of an existing ceasefire. The insurgents spoke on Monday of at least two deaths and new fighting. The Ukrainian army spoke of two soldiers killed on Saturday. In the eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, not far from the Russian border, government troops equipped by the West have been fighting Russian-backed separatists since 2014. According to United Nations estimates, more than 14,000 people have already been killed.
Stock market slipped sharply into the red
The Moscow stock exchange slipped sharply into the red on Monday afternoon. The Russian RTS index lost 11.72 percent to 1,228.23 points by just after 3 p.m. CET, falling to its lowest level since autumn 2020. The index has lost around a fifth of its value since last Wednesday alone. More about this here.
Satellite images show new military activity
Newly acquired satellite images show new military activity in Russia near the border with Ukraine. The US-based company Maxar Technologies reported the deployment of additional troops and armored equipment at several locations along the border. The new activity represents a change in the structure of the previously observed deployment of Russian combat units, it said.
At the same time, according to insiders, the US government is preparing a first package of sanctions against Russia aimed at the banking sector. Among other things, the plan is to ban US financial institutions from processing transactions for large Russian banks, the Reuters news agency learned from three people familiar with the matter. The aim of the measures is to damage the Russian economy. According to the information, the sanctions will only be implemented in the event of a Russian invasion of Ukraine. EU Commission President von der Leyen also threatened that the planned financial sanctions were aimed at “basically cutting Russia off from the international financial markets.”
In view of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the Lufthansa Group, which also owns AUA, suspended its flights to the Ukrainian cities of Kiev and Odessa on Monday. According to a group spokeswoman, the measure will initially apply until the end of the month. The city of Lviv (Lemberg) in the west of the country will continue to be served. At the weekend, the Foreign Ministry issued a travel warning for Ukraine and called on Austrians in Ukraine to leave the country.
Source: Nachrichten
