Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced his decision to recognise the independence of Russian-speaking separatist territories in Donetsk and Luhansk (Donbass) following a meeting of the Russian Security Council in a televised address to his nation.

Putin said modern Ukraine was a complete creation by the communist regime in a brief historical account of how it was formed after underlining the close cultural and religious ties between Ukraine and Russia.

As the Kremlin officially announced, the Russian president contacted his French counterpart Emanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and informed them of his decision to recognise “in the near future” the independence of Donbas, ie the eastern regions, Donetsk and Lugansk.

According to the same source, both Paris and Berlin expressed their disappointment with the decision of the Russian president. Vladimir Putin spoke about the developments on the Ukrainian border on Monday before the extraordinary meeting of the Russian Security Council.

The Russian president pointed out that “if Russia faces the risk of Ukraine joining NATO, the threat to our country will increase substantially” while adding that Kyiv does not intend to fulfill the Minsk agreements. However, on this issue, he stressed that Emanuel Macron told him that the Ukrainian leadership is ready to implement the Minsk peace process and is working on new ideas for holding elections in the two breakaway regions.

Russian-backed rebels have been fighting Ukrainian troops in Donetsk and Luhansk since 2014, with regular violence despite a ceasefire agreement.

Leaders of both regions asked Russia to recognise their independence on Monday. But Western powers fear such a move could be used as a pretext for Russia to invade its neighbour. Since 2019, Russia has issued large numbers of passports to people living in the two regions.