Russian President Vladimir Putin stunned the world on February 21, 2022, when he signed an agreement that formally recognises two proxy states in eastern Ukraine as independent regions, which he could support militarily through a “peacekeeping” force – much to the dismay of the global political community.
“I consider it necessary to take a long overdue decision to immediately recognise the independence and sovereignty of the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic,” were the words spoken by an angry President Putin, after he spent almost an hour ranting about Ukraine’s right to exist and the expansion of NATO following the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The move serves as pretext for Putin to further undermine Ukraine’s sovereignty – adding to Russia’s illegal annexation of the Crimean peninsula in 2014 – and order the Russian military to mobilise into these proxy states to act as what he calls “peacekeeping forces.” However, as the recognition of these two breakaway regions is not shared internationally and has been widely condemned – even by Russian allies, such as Kazakhstan – any incursion of Russian military units (aside from the Russian-backed proxy forces already present) in t…
