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The Foreign Secretary, in response to Russia’s announcement it has signed a decree recognising the independence of Donetsk and Luhansk, said Moscow has shown a “flagrant disregard” for its commitments under the Minsk agreements, adding the move served as proof the Kremlin was opting for the “path of confrontation over dialogue”.
In a statement following Mr Putin’s televised address confirming his decision, Ms Truss added: “This step represents a further attack on Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, signals an end to the Minsk process and is a violation of the UN charter.
“We will coordinate our response with Allies.
“We will not allow Russia’s violation of its international commitments to go unpunished.”
Putin recognises independence of Ukraine separatist regions
In a speech that lasted nearly an hour, Mr Putin claimed Ukraine was created by Russia, calling revolutionary Vladimir Lenin the “author and creator” of the country.
He then went on to say the Eastern European nation is “being controlled from the outside” and had become a “colony of puppets”.
Slamming his neighbour’s history, he continued: “Ukraine has never had traditions of its own statehood… the Ukrainian state is built on denying everything that invites us, the historical memory of millions of people.
“Ukrainians squandered not only everything we gave them during the USSR but even everything they inherited from the Russian empire. Even the work created by Catherine the Great.”
He concluded: “I deem it necessary to make a decision that should have been made a long time ago – to immediately recognise the independence and sovereignty of the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Lugansk People’s Republic.”
His words were followed by widespread criticism from Western leaders, many of whom echoed the foreign secretary’s words.
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