Putin ordered the deployment of troops in the territories of the Luhansk People’s Republic and the Donetsk People’s Republic, alluding to a broader military campaign. He also declared that Ukraine was a “state created by Russia”.

Immediately after the Russian president addressed his people, he signed decrees late Monday night, recognizing the so-called DNR and LNR, and instructed Russia’s Defense Ministry to send troops to the regions to perform “peacekeeping functions”.

At an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, Putin’s recognition was fully condemned as a violation of international law and the sovereignty of Ukraine.

She said his claim that Russian forces are entering those regions as “peacekeepers” is “nonsense.” “We know what they really are”, US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said.

It was not immediately clear whether Russian troops would remain only in the territory controlled by the republics or whether they would try to expand the republic.

The so-called “LPR” stated that they have “all the grounds for restoring the historical borders of the Luhansk region”.

“The entire Luhansk region is our land. We urge Ukraine to remove its forces peacefully; otherwise, we will take the appropriate steps,” said the vice-speaker of the “LPR parliament” .

In his speech, Zelensky called on Ukraine’s allies to act quickly and urged the Ukrainian people to maintain calm. 

“We are on our own land. We fear nothing and nobody,” - he said.

The White House said Biden would impose sanctions on people doing business in the separatist regions and that the United States would announce new sanctions soon.

The entire international community has condemned Russia’s actions, and the leaders of Britain and the European Union have vowed to impose sanctions on those involved in recognizing the L / DPR.

US Permanent Representative to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield has promised that the Biden administration will announce new sanctions against Russia on February 22.

She ridiculed Putin’s assertion that Russian troops had been deployed as peacekeepers and called his attempt to recreate the Russian Empire an outdated relic of the past.

“Putin wants the world to go back to the past when there was no UN and the world was ruled by empires. But the rest of the world has moved forward. Now it’s not 1919. It’s 2022”, - she said.

Putin’s final plans remain a mystery, but a full-scale invasion is the greatest military threat to Europe since World War II.

Now the 69-year-old Russian president is determined to “fix” what he has long considered one of the greatest catastrophes of the 20th century: the collapse of the Soviet Union.

During an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council over the Ukrainian crisis, the United States and its allies sought to isolate Russia, calling Moscow’s recognition of the two separatist regions and the deployment of Russian troops a gross violation of international law that could threaten war.

The UN meeting quickly turned into a diplomatic accusation of Russia’s actions condemning violations of the UN Charter and the inviolability of national borders.

“Russia is choosing the path of confrontation", - said French Ambassador Nicolas de Riviere.

The representative of Great Britain, Barbara Woodward, added that Russia has brought the international community to the brink and urged Russia to step back.

Russian Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya categorically rejected any criticism. He presented the actions of his country as an aid to Russian-speaking residents of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. He called them victims of Ukrainian attacks and tricks.

Already after the meeting, Thomas Greenfield said that members of the Council “sent a joint signal that Russia should not start a war.”

“I do not doubt that everything will backfire on the schizo dwarf. And we will beat him jointly! Someone with sanctions, we will beat him - personally! Get together, friends! Let’s support the Army! Let’s help volunteers! We will stand across your throat”, - TV presenter Serhiy Prytula wrote.

The British edition of The Guardian stressed that Putin’s speech, which he said was addressed to the “brother nation”, was full of “visceral anger ”.

“In his incoherent remarks, Putin condemned Ukraine’s decision to move away from its Soviet past, presenting the de facto dismemberment of the country as a punishment”, - the text said.

Time wrote that Europe is “gripped by fear of war”.

Biden has repeatedly stated that he does not intend to involve the US military in another war abroad, the newspaper writes.

The German newspaper Spiegel called Putin’s statements “crazy” and formulated key theses:

• Putin spoke only about Donbas. He has no claims to other parts of Ukraine (even in his historical excursion he refrained from hints of further encroachments on “historically Russian” territories such as in southeastern Ukraine);
• Recognition of L/DPR’s independence is only a preliminary stage in the annexation of these territories to Russia (there are two options for this item: either the Crimea scenario or South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which were never part of Russia);
• Recognition of the so-called ORDLO republics had long been planned (as evidenced by the words of Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin: “We have long been preparing for a possible reaction to the recognition of” LPR “and” DPR “).

At present, the Alliance continues to support Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

“I condemn Russia’s decision to recognize the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic. This further undermines Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, undermines efforts to resolve the conflict and violates the Minsk agreements”, - NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said.

He recalled that in 2015, the UN Security Council, which includes Russia, reaffirmed its full respect for Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity.

“Donetsk and Luhansk are part of Ukraine. Moscow continues to fuel the conflict in eastern Ukraine by providing financial and military support to the separatists. It is also trying to create a pretext for re-invading Ukraine”, - Stoltenberg said.

Stoltenberg assured that the Alliance supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders.

“The Allies strongly urge Russia to choose the path of diplomacy and to immediately stop the large-scale increase in military power in and around Ukraine, as well as to withdraw its troops from Ukraine following its international obligations”, - the statement said.

Polish President Andrzej Duda sees Volodymyr’s decision as undermining order in Europe and demanding “unity and a decisive position” between NATO, the EU, and the entire European region.

“Only a tough stance and political defence of Ukraine can stop the aggressor. Sanctions immediately!”, - he wrote on Twitter.

The President of the Russian Federation still claims that he does not want a war and is ready for negotiations, but the termination of peace agreements with Ukraine and the recognition of the L / DPR as independent territories suggest that further negotiations will be fruitless.

He continues to threaten with “appropriate military retaliation” if his demands for “security guarantees” from the West are ignored.

Putin warned that Ukraine would be responsible for further possible bloodshed if it did not end hostilities in the east.

There have already been several provocations by separatists in the territories of the self-proclaimed “L / DNR”, and they are trying to use any of them as an excuse to attack.

Dmytro Snegirev, co-chairperson of the Prava Sprava public initiative, explained Zelensky’s position to Suspilne Crimea.

“Martial law is imposed at the time of direct military aggression by Russia. Now the presence of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in the temporarily occupied territories has been legitimized. The Russian Federation itself is the only country that rejects the presence of the Russian Federation’s Armed Forces. To say that an invasion has taken place is to play on the side of the occupiers. The war has been going on since 2014. It is worth asking the former President of Ukraine why all the necessary measures did not take place back in 2014, as there are actions that give reason to believe that a political “agreement” has been concluded with the occupying country. I reported about this scenario back in 2017", - the expert said.

Russian military equipment has been in the temporarily controlled territory since 2014, according to Dmitry Snegirev. 

The military expert also explained why the East saw a huge increase in hostilities.

“During the execution of the Minsk agreements, Russia began to exert pressure on Ukraine, attempting to bring the leaders of the L/DPR and Zelensky together at the same table.” And he flatly refused, because Ukraine has a principled position, which states that we will never negotiate with terrorists", - Dmitry Snegirev said.

He stressed that the main task facing Ukrainians is to preserve their national identity, not to disperse it by joining the so-called LPR and DPR, the vast majority of the population of the self-proclaimed republics are holders of Russian passports.

The co-chair of the Prava Sprava public initiative believes that the value of the state lies not in kilometres of territory but in its ability to protect its own interests.

“Now Moscow has to worry about the socio-economic support of the occupied territories because according to the Geneva and Vienna conventions, the socio-economic security of these territories is exclusively a matter for the occupying country. If they are independent, let them pay us for water, gas, and electricity, which were supplied free of charge on their territory during the time of Petro Oleksiyovych”, - the military expert said.

He recalled that the issue of treason began in March 2014, when he and members of his organisation were not allowed to defend Ukrainian Luhansk by refusing to provide weapons.

“We were ready to defend Ukrainian interests, but by a strange coincidence, the weapons stored in the arsenal of the Luhansk and Donetsk SBU departments fell into the hands of separatists. Thousands of firearms were handed over to the so-called “LPR” militants without a fight", - he said.

Dmytro Snegiryov summed up that one should not panic, expect a full-scale war, and book tickets to Western Ukraine.

 “A local aggravation is possible at the time of the advancement of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to the administrative borders of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions. There will be no attack on Kyiv and other regions. If Putin had the opportunity, he would have implemented his plans back in 2014, when the Armed Forces of Ukraine were demoralised. At that time, all the ways were open for him", - military expert Dmitry Snegirev explained.