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February 22, addressing reporters in Moscow, Putin said “now the Minsk agreements… do not exist. Why should one implement them if we have recognized the independence of these entities.”
He also claimed “best decision that Ukraine could take would be to renounce its Nato membership ambitions.”
“We’re counting on the resolution of all these differences. These differences will be sorted out between Kyiv and Luhansk and Donetsk regions. But for the moment we understand that this is probably impossible in this current situation but we’re hoping for this in the future,” he noted.
Russian lawmakers have given President Vladimir Putin permission to use military force outside the country.
Here is a brief look at the peace agreements, signed in Minsk in 2014 and 2015.
MINSK I
After a few months of ferocious battles, which took over 2,600 lives, in September 2014, representatives of Ukraine and Donbas militants met in the Belarus capital and agreed on a 12-point truce deal. Its included prisoner exchanges, deliveries of humanitarian aid, and the withdrawal of heavy weapons. The agreement quickly broke down.
MINSK II
In February 2015, representatives of Russia, Ukraine, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and the leaders of Russian-backed militants signed a 13-point agreement in February 2015. Francois Hollande (French president), Angela Merkel (German chancellor), Vladimir Putin (Russia president), and Petro Poroshenko (Ukraine’s president) simultaneously gathered there and issued a declaration of support for the deal. Among the key issues of the Minsk peace are a ceasefire, weapons withdrawal, pardoning, and amnesty for people involved in the fighting (some Ukraine’s forces believe this point to be a “red line” that cannot be crossed by Ukraine’s government), restoring full control of the state border by the government of Ukraine, constitutional reform in Ukraine including the specific status of Donetsk and Luhansk, as well as holding elections on the occupied territories. Kyiv, Moscow, and the unrecognized republics cannot agree on the order of implementation of the Minsk peace deal, which constitutes a stumbling block on the road to peace. Ukraine insists on restoring full control of the state border first, while Kremlin states that elections should be first.
Related news: Blinken: Ukraine implementing Minsk deal, Russia failing to do its part
Putin signed a decree recognizing the areas, this move might justify Russia’s attack in those locations and an agreement of cooperation with the heads of the self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic. The militants do not control the entirety of their regions.
Following a meeting of the National Security and Defense Council, President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Putin’s decision could mean Russia’s unilateral withdrawal from the Minsk agreements and ignoring decisions within the “Normandy format talks.”
Ukraine qualifies Russia’s latest actions as a violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our state, President Volodymyr Zelensky in an address following a meeting of the National Security and Defense Council stated.
