File Photo
EKO HOT BLOG reports that President Vladimir Putin has ordered Russia’s military to act as peacekeepers in two breakaway regions of Ukraine, just hours after he recognised them as independent.
Putin’s recognition of the separatist republics as independent effectively buries a fragile 2015 peace plan for the conflict, and opens the door for direct Russian military involvement.
Read also: Ukraine: Biden Agrees In Principle To Summit With Putin
In two official decrees, Putin instructed the defence ministry to assume “the function of peacekeeping” in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions.
Moscow provided no details or date for any deployment, with the order only saying that it “comes into force from the day it was signed”.
Russia has moved tens of thousands of soldiers to regions near Ukraine’s borders, with the West saying Moscow plans to use them for an attack at any moment.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
Nigerian Military Airstrike Mistakenly Kills 7 Children
In the same document, Putin also ordered his foreign ministry to “establish diplomatic relations” with the “republics”.
The agreement, published by Russia’s lower house of parliament, “creates a legal basis for the presence on the territory (of the two regions) of Russian military formations, whose presence is necessary to maintain peace in the region and ensure reliable security”.
Both sides agreed to share military bases and jointly protect their borders, it said.
Click to watch our video of the week
Sony Invests $300 Million in Kadokawa, Expanding Game and Anime Portfolio Sony, the Japanese tech…
Operatives of the Oyo State Police Command have detained the principal of Islamic High School…
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) may have invited the suspended chairmen of the…