Russian President Vladimir Putin urged the Ukrainian military to "lay down arms at once and leave for home.
"Those servicemen of the Ukrainian army who will meet this demand will be free to leave the zone of combat operations and return to their families." All responsibility for possible bloodshed "will rest upon entirely on Ukraine’s ruling regime."
Special operation of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation are not connected with the desire to infringe on the interests of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people. They are connected with the protection of Russia itself from those who took Ukraine hostage and are trying to use it against our country and its people, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in urgent address on Thursday.
"In 2014, Russia was obliged to protect the inhabitants of Crimea and Sevastopol from those whom you yourself call “Nazis”. Crimeans and Sevastopol residents made their choice to be with their historical homeland, with Russia, and we supported this. I repeat, we simply could not do otherwise," he said.
Russia's actions are self-defense against the threats posed to us and from an even greater disaster than what is happening today.
"No matter how difficult it may be, I ask you to understand this and call for cooperation in order to turn this tragic page as soon as possible and move forward together, not to allow anyone to interfere in our affairs, in our relations, but to build them on our own, so that it creates the necessary conditions for overcoming all problems and, despite the presence of state borders, would strengthen us from the inside as a whole. I believe in this - in this is our future," Putin stated.
Russia has begun a military operation in Ukraine following a request from the authorities of the Donetsk and Lugansk republics for assistance in repelling Kiev’s military aggression, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in urgent address on Thursday.
He said that Moscow would seek the "demilitarization and denazification" of Ukraine, called upon the Ukrainian army to lay down weapons and warned there would follow a prompt response to attempts at foreign intervention from outside.
After that there followed reports of sounds of explosions in a number of Ukrainian cities, including Kiev and Kharkov.
"First, I did not say our troops would enter [Donbass]right away, after our meeting here. That is first. Second, it is absolutely impossible to predict the detailed path of possible actions. It depends on the concrete situation that is unfolding on the ground, as they say.
Regarding the question if all issues can and must be resolved by force or if it is possible to remain on the side of good. Well, why do you think that good must always be frail and helpless? I do not think that is true. I think good means being able to defend oneself. We will proceed from that," Russian President Vladimir Putin told a news conference on Tuesday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday.
Vladimir Putin stressed the objective necessity to take that decision based on the Ukrainian authorities’ aggression in Donbass and their categorical refusal to implement the Minsk Agreements.
Recep Erdogan pointed out that Turkey will not recognize the steps that infringe on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.
The issues of working out long-term legally binding security guarantees for the Russian Federation were also discussed. In this context, Vladimir Putin expressed his disappointment with the US and NATO response which came down to an attempt to ignore Russia’s legitimate concerns and demands.
Moscow will offer a strong response to US sanctions, if not necessarily tit-for-tat, but a measured and sensitive one for Washington, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on new US anti-Russian sanctions on Wednesday.
"There should be no doubt - sanctions will be met with a strong response, not necessarily symmetrical, but measured and sensitive for the US side," the document says.
The Russian Foreign Ministry noted that the package of sanctions declared by the US administration (already the 101th one), targeting the financial sector with the extension of the blacklist of individuals, subject to personal restrictions, is part and parcel of Washington’s endless attempts to change Russia’s policy.
"Despite clearly futile efforts made for many years with the goal of hindering our economic development, the US is again grasping the restrictions tools, which are ineffective and counterproductive in terms of US interests as well," the Foreign Ministry stressed.
According to the ministry, Russia proved that despite all sanctions it is capable of reducing the damage. "And moreover, the sanctions pressure cannot affect our determination to strongly defend our interests," the statement reads.
Washington, which is under the sway of unipolar world stereotypes with false convictions that the US still has the right and can impose its own rules of the world order on everyone, has no other means in its foreign policy arsenals than blackmail, intimidation and threats. "This isn’t working in regard to world powers, namely Russia and other key international actors," the Foreign Ministry stated. "’Slapdowns’ from the US should be followed by their satellites and clients who completely lost their autonomy."
Meanwhile, the ministry noted that Russia is "open to diplomacy based on the principles of mutual respect, equality and the consideration for each other’s interests."
Russian President Vladimir Putin has described as unacceptable the beefing up of Ukraine’s military potential, in particular, in the light of Kiev’s "nuclear ambitions."
As he commented on Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s remarks he did not like the Minsk agreements, Putin said that in this way it might be possible to walk out of any other agreements, for instance, Kiev’s hypothetical pledge not to join NATO, although in this way the country’s authorities "would have in fact implemented the idea of neutrality."
"He [Zelensky] would resettle to Washington, Paris or Berlin, while we would have a heavily armed ‘anti-Russia’ next door. This is absolutely unacceptable, in particular, now, that Ukraine’s current leadership has declared its nuclear ambitions," Putin told a news conference on Tuesday.
Secretary General Antonio Guterres made several statements on the situation in eastern Ukraine that are not compatible with his status, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, opening talks with UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen on Wednesday.
"To our great regret, the UN Secretary General whom you are representing turned out to be susceptible to pressure by the West and recently made several statements incompatible with his status and his authority under the UN Charter," he said.
The Russian top diplomat noted that Moscow conveyed to Guterres its assessment of his statements. According to Lavrov, the UN Secretary General has never expressed support for the necessity to implement the Minsk Accords and the UN Security Council resolution on the same matter.
"With regards to the situation in Ukraine, the [UN] secretary general has not raised his voice even once to support the necessity of complying with the requirements of the Minsk Package of Measures and Resolution 2202 of the [UN] Security Council which directly demand to resolve all issues by coordination between Kiev, Donetsk and Lugansk. Nobody mentioned this in the West. And, unfortunately, the secretary general followed this sad example," the Russian foreign minister said.
Earlier, UN secretary general Antonio Guterres made a number of statements with regards to the situation in eastern Ukraine, criticizing the recognition of the DPR and LPR by Russia as well as asserting that he wouldn’t consider Russian servicemen in Donbass as peacekeepers.
On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin made a video address to congratulate veterans, the military and civilian personnel of the Armed Forces and all citizens of Russia on this holiday.
"Patriotism and the unity of our nation, the exploits of its devoted sons and daughters have always been the foundation of the martial history of our thousand-year-old country, its glory and victories. We are proud of the many generations of its defenders: the guards of Alexander Nevsky and Dmitry Donskoy, the warriors of Minin and Pozharsky and the heroes of Poltava and Borodino, Stalingrad and the unstoppable assault on Berlin, all those who brought glory to our Fatherland according to the great traditions of our ancestors," he said.
Putin expressed his sincere, heartfelt gratitude to the few veterans of the Great Patriotic War who remained with us.
"We will always remember that you, the valiant generation of victors, crushed Nazism and saved our country and the entire world from this barbaric, merciless force. Your feat is a summit of human history, a great example for all those who are serving today in the Army and the Navy, and protecting Russia from external threats on land, in air and at sea," he said.
Ensuring that Russia can defend itself remains a primary responsibility of government, and the Armed Forces serve as a reliable guarantee of our national security, the peaceful and orderly lives of our people and Russia’s stable and steady development.
Russia is always open to a direct and honest dialogue and ready to search for diplomatic solutions to the most complicated issues.
"But I want to repeat that Russia’s interests and the security of our people are an indisputable priority. So, we will continue to strengthen and modernise our Army and Navy, striving to increase their effectiveness, so they are fitted out with the most cutting-edge equipment," Putin noted.
The President noted that Russia have weapons that are second to none in the world and they are operational. Russia will continue to develop promising weapon systems, including hypersonic weapons and those based on new physical principles, and expand the use of advanced digital technology and elements of artificial intelligence. Complexes like these are weapons of the future, which can boost the potential of our Armed Forces several-fold.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky an "unstable and dependent man," adding that any steps could be expected from him, including those aimed at escalation of Russian-Ukrainian relations.
"I’ve read what he said there [in his video address to Ukrainian citizens]. Everything could be expected from him. This is an unstable, dependent man, directly dependent on his American curators," the Minister said in an interview for Rossiya-1 TV channel, answering a question about Kiev’s readiness for steps on escalation of tensions.
He added that he "read with bewilderment the statement" of US Permanent Representative to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield regarding Ukraine’s potential reception of nuclear weapons.
"Judging by the sense of this statement, Ukraine may obtain nuclear weapons, should it desire to. Our Western colleagues build all their rhetoric outbursts solely in order to fuel this confrontation," the Minister underscored.
Lavrov noted that the West does not try to find ways for de-escalation of tensions it itself creates, but tries to "destabilize the Russian Federation in every way possible" and slow down its development, as Russian President Vladimir Putin said in his February 21 address."This is regrettable," Lavrov concluded.
The Minsk Package of Measures were killed not by Russia and not by the representatives of Donbass republics, but by the current Kiev authorities, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a press conference on Tuesday.
"As it was said yesterday during the Security Council meeting, over all these years, the efforts of the current Kiev authorities reduced it all to naught. So, the Minsk agreements were dead long before yesterday’s recognition of the people’s republics of Donbass," he said.
According to Punin, yesterday's event – the recognition of these republics – was dictated precisely by the fact that the Ukrainian leadership had publicly declared that they were not going to abide by these agreements. Not going to abide by them. "Well, what else can you say to that? The top officials have publicly said so."
The President also noted the inaction and impotence of the EU representatives, who were the guarantors of the Package of Measures.
"When we spoke to our European colleagues, they all said the same thing: 'Yes, this is the way forward,' but in reality they were unable to force their partners in the current leadership in Kiev to do so. So, we were compelled to take this decision and, in this sense, indeed, the Minsk agreements do not exist anymore. Why abide by them if we have recognised the independence of these entities?" he stressed.
Russia will provide military aid to Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed, answering questions from journalists.
"About the use of armed forces abroad. Well, how else, of course, we did sign treaties yesterday after all; and, in these treaties with Donetsk People’s Republic and Lugansk People’s Republic, there are corresponding clauses that stipulate that we will provide corresponding aid, including military one," Putin said.
He added that, since there is a conflict going on in Donbass, the Russia’s decision "made it clear that Russian intends to fulfill its obligations if necessary."
Russia hopes that the UN Secretariat, before making any statements regarding Russia’s decision to recognize the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics, will rely on the organization’s basic principles, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on the Rossiya-24 round-the-clock television news channel on Tuesday.
"It is my strong wish to see the UN Secretariat’s leadership, in making some statements, adhere to the basic principles the organization rests upon in accordance with the decisions made by the member-states.
"Our colleagues at the UN Secretariat apparently must abide by the decisions adopted by that organization - decisions that are crucial to the implementation of the UN Charter’s principles and goals and decisions that were made unanimously on the basis of consensus, in other words, by all UN member-states without an exception," Lavrov said.
Earlier, the UN Secretary General’s spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, said that Antonio Guterres was very concerned about Russia’s decision to recognize the independence of the DPR and LPR. He said that Guterres saw Russia’s decision as a violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty failing to meet the principles of the UN Charter.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 21 declared that Russia recognized the sovereignty of the Donetsk and Lugansk republics. Treaties on friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance were signed with their leaders. Putin instructed the Russian Foreign Ministry to establish diplomatic relations with Donetsk and Lugansk and asked the Defense Ministry to maintain peace in their territories.
Russian President Vladimir Putin debunked speculations that Moscow allegedly intends to restore itself within the Russian Empire borders.
"Of course, I would use the occasion of your visit in order to inform you about what is going on at the Ukrainian direction," he said during the talks with President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev. "You know that Russia made a decision yesterday to recognize the sovereignty of two Donbass People’s Republics. I would like to say it right here: we see and we anticipated speculations on this issue that Russia wants to restore the Empire within the Empire’s borders. This is totally false."
Putin underscored that, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Russia recognized all new geopolitical realities, and works on strengthening its cooperation with all countries, independent states that emerged on the post-Soviet territory.
"Even in very tense situation, such as the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement, for example, we have always acted very carefully, considering interests of all states involved in this process, and we have always sought to achieve mutually acceptable solutions," he said.
If Ukraine created by the Bolsheviks wants genuine de-communization, this will suit Russia, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday.
"Now grateful descendants have demolished monuments to Lenin in Ukraine. This is what they call de-communization. Do you want de-communization? Well, this quite suits us. But you must not stop halfway. We are ready to show you what genuine de-communization means for Ukraine," Putin said in his address to the nation over the situation in Ukraine’s southeast.
Modern Ukraine was entirely created by Russia or, to be more precise, by Bolshevik, Communist Russia, Vladimir Putin said in his historic address on recognition of Donbass on Monday.
This process started practically right after the 1917 revolution, and Lenin and his associates did it in a way that was extremely harsh on Russia – by separating, severing what is historically Russian land. Nobody asked the millions of people living there what they thought," he added.
Putin continued his historical excursion with a description of events both before and after the Great Patriotic War.
"Stalin incorporated in the USSR and transferred to Ukraine some lands that previously belonged to Poland, Romania and Hungary. In the process, he gave Poland part of what was traditionally German land as compensation, and in 1954, Khrushchev took Crimea away from Russia for some reason and also gave it to Ukraine. In effect, this is how the territory of modern Ukraine was formed," he noted.
In the Donbass - in the people's republics - at night the atmosphere was festive. This is a highly anticipated event for residents. Practically everyone watched the Russian president's address attentively. In Donetsk, some watched the broadcast right in the center of the city. The first reaction is general jubilation.
And although there were no mass festivities (after all, there is a curfew), people congratulated each other. They said that this was the best news in recent years: now they had confidence in the future and that the long-term horror would finally end. There were fireworks in the city center.
In Lugansk, residents staged a small motor rally. Several dozen cars with the flags of Russia and the Luhansk People's Republic, signaling, drove around the whole city.
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed decrees at the ceremony in the Kremlin on recognizing the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics.
The President of Russia signed the Executive Order On the Recognition of the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Executive Order On the Recognition of the Lugansk People’s Republic.
Vladimir Putin and Head of the DPR Denis Pushilin signed a Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance between the Russian Federation and the Donetsk People’s Republic.
The President of Russia and Head of the LPR Leonid Pasechnik signed a Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance between the Russian Federation and the Lugansk People’s Republic.
Following the signing ceremony, Vladimir Putin had a conversation with Denis Pushilin and Leonid Pasechnik.
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed decrees at the ceremony in the Kremlin on recognizing the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics.
Speaking in a televised address to the citizens earlier, Putin explained: "I believe it is necessary to take this long overdue decision. I immediately recognize the independence and sovereignty of the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Lugansk People’s Republic."
The Russian leader asked the Federal Assembly to back this decision and then ratify the treaties on friendship and mutual aid with both republics. While announcing this decision, the president voiced confidence about the support of Russian citizens and all patriotic forces in the country.
Later, Putin met with the DPR and LPR leaders, Denis Pushilin and Leonid Pasechnik, and signed with them the treaties on friendship, cooperation and mutual aid between Russia and both republics. The ceremony was held in the Kremlin’s St. Catherine Hall, which hosted the meeting of the Russian Security Council. At this meeting, the Security Council’s members called for recognizing the independence of the DPR and LPR.
Also in St. Catherine Hall, before inking the friendship treaties, Putin signed the decrees on recognizing the DPR and LPR, and congratulated both leaders.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has informed German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron that he plans to sign a decree recognizing the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR) in the near future, the Kremlin press service said after Putin’s telephone conversations with them.
The Russian president informed the German and French leaders about the results of today’s meeting of the Russian Security Council that focused on the current situation around Donbass in the context of the Russian lower parliament house’s resolution on the recognition of the Donbass republics.
Earlier in the day, the DPR and LPR leaders called for recognizing their republics’ sovereignty amid Ukraine’s aggression, intense shelling of the Donbass republics, killing and wounding civilian population.
"The Russian president said that he plans to sign a corresponding decree in the near future," the Kremlin said.
According to the Kremlin press service, Macron and Scholz said that they were disappointed with his plans to recognize the independence of the Donbass republics. "The French president and the German chancellor expressed disappointment over such developments," it said.
At the same time, Macron and Scholz "expressed their readiness to continue contacts," the Kremlin added.
On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin held a emergency meeting of the Russian Federation Security Council at the Kremlin, in connection with the critical aggravation of the situation in the Donbass.
"Russia initially did everything it could to make sure these disagreements could be resolved by peaceful means. However, the Kiev officials have conducted two punitive operations on those territories and, apparently, we are witnessing a third escalation," he said.
"All these years – I want to stress this – all these years, the people living on those territories have been literally tortured by constant shelling and blockades. As you know, the people living on those territories, close to the front line, so to speak, were in fact forced to seek shelter in their basements – where they now live with their children," Putin added.
According to the Russian leader the goal of today’s meeting is to listen to ministers and to outline future steps in this direction, considering the appeals by the leaders of the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Lugansk People’s Republic on recognising their sovereignty, as well as a resolution by the State Duma of the Russian Federation on the same subject. The latter document urges the President to recognise the independence and sovereignty of the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Lugansk People’s Republic.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, on Monday, had a virtual meeting with the Russian Paralympic team ahead of the XIII Paralympic Winter Gameson.
"Every time we see you perform and listen to your success stories, we admire the strong will and the grit it takes not just to overcome your health problems but also to gain a new foothold and a new meaning in life through high performance sports," he said.
Leaders of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, Denis Pushilin and Leonid Pasechnik, have asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to recognize the republics’ independence.
"On behalf of all of the people of the DPR, we are asking you to recognize the Donetsk People’s Republic as an independent, democratic and social state based on the rule of law," Pushilin stated.
In his turn, the LPR’s leader, Leonid Pasechnik, said: "With the goal of preventing mass deaths among the republic’s civilian population, some 300,000 of whom are Russian citizens, I’m asking you to recognize the sovereignty and independence of the Lugansk People’s Republic."
Both leaders have also suggested signing a treaty on friendship and cooperation with Russia, including on military cooperation.
Western countries are trying to create an almost irresolvable confrontation between Russia and the North Atlantic Alliance, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a meeting with Syrian top diplomat Faisal Mekdad in Moscow on Monday.
"The situation in the world is unfolding quickly, it particularly concerns the Middle East and North Africa issues. Most regrettably, the efforts we are making to implement United Nations Security Council Resolution 2254 are being affected by the atmosphere that our Western colleagues are creating, trying to start an almost irresolvable confrontation between Russia and the Western alliance," Lavrov pointed out.
"We definitely will not let such attempts undermine our ability to reach specific results and negatively impact the progress of the closest strategic relations between Russia and Syria, as well as our efforts to achieve a fair peace based on strengthening the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of your country," the Russian foreign minister emphasized, addressing his Syrian counterpart.
The Russian top diplomat also noted that the two countries’ presidents continued to outline the goals that Moscow and Damascus were facing, which was confirmed by their contact in September 2021. "I am sure that today, we will be able to meaningfully discuss ways to promote these goals and achieve them," Lavrov concluded.
The flame of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in China was put out on Sunday during an official closing ceremony at the Beijing National Stadium, also known as the Bird’s Nest.
Before the Olympic flame was put out, Thomas Bach, the President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), officially declared the end to the Olympic Games in China.
The 2022 Winter Olympic Games in the Chinese capital of Beijing were held between February 4 and 20. During the 128th IOC session in Kuala Lumpur on July 31, 2015, Beijing was chosen to host the 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games making the Chinese capital the first city ever to host both the Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games (in 2008) as well as the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games (in 2022).
Team Norway completed the 2022 Winter Olympics medal standings in the top setting their new national record winning 16 gold, eight silver and 13 bronze medals (37 in total). Germany was 2nd having won 12 gold, 10 silver and five bronze medals (27 in total). The team of the 2022 Olympics hosts, China, finished in 3rd place with nine gold, four silver and two bronze medals (15 in total).
The national team of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) finished the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in China in the 9th place of the medal standings having bagged six gold, 12 silver and 14 bronze medals (32 in total).
The Olympians from Russia set a national record this year in the total number of medals won at the Winter Olympic records. The previous record in the overall number of medals won at the Games was registered at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi - 29 medals (11 gold, 9 silver, 9 bronze). The best record of the Olympic team of the Soviet Union was registered at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Canada’s Calgary - 29 medals (11 gold, 9 silver, nine bronze medals).
Russian President Vladimir Putin told his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, that the current escalation in Donbass was caused by provocations by Ukrainian troops, the Kremlin press service said on Sunday after their telephone conversation.
"Serious concern was expressed over the dramatic deterioration of the situation along the contact line in Donbass. The Russian president noted that the escalation was caused by provocations by Ukrainian troops," it said.
"In furtherance of the discussions during the French president’s visit to Moscow and regular telephone contacts, the presidents exchanged views on the situation around Ukraine and on long-term legally-binding security guarantees to Russia," the Kremlin said.
I don’t want to use slang, but there is a saying that real men do what they say, at the very least, at the international level, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov answered the media question about the upcoming meeting with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.
The Minister said that this meeting meets Russian interests and plans.
"As I have said, we want to explain to our American colleagues and their NATO allies that we will not be satisfied with verbal promises, especially since the written obligations by the heads of state and government regarding NATO’s full respect for Russia’s interests (let alone the oral guarantees which President Vladimir Putin has mentioned on numerous occasions) turned out to be worthless. This won’t do," he added.
According to Lavrov, Russia intends to seek a fair solution. However, apparently the diplomat is not at all sure of the honesty of his opponent.
On Saturday, under the leadership of the Supreme Commander-in-Cheif of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation VladimirPutin a planned exercise of the strategic deterrence forces was held, during which ballistic and cruise missiles were launched.
The President observed the exercise from the Kremlin’s situation room together with President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko.
The forces and means of the Aerospace Forces, the Southern Military District, the Strategic Missile Forces, the Northern and Black Sea Fleets were involved in the exercise.
The Aerospace Forces successfully launched the Kinzhal hypersonic ballistic missiles.
Ships and submarines of the Northern Fleet and the Black Sea Fleet launched Caliber cruise missiles and Zirkon hypersonic missiles at sea and ground targets.
In the Astrakhan region, at the Kapustin Yar training ground, the Iskander ground-based cruise missile was launched.
From the position area of Plesetsk state test cosmodrome, Yars intercontinental ballistic missile was launched at the Kura training ground on Kamchatka Peninsula.
Air-launched cruise missiles fired from Tu-95MS long-range strategic missile carriers hit targets at the Pemboi and Kura training grounds.
From the waters of the Barents Sea, a strategic nuclear submarine cruiser Karelia of the Northern Fleet launched Sineva ballistic missile at target at the Kura training ground.
The exercise of the strategic deterrence forces was planned earlier, during which the readiness of the military command and control bodies, launch combat crews, crews of warships and strategic missile carriers to perform the assigned tasks, as well as the reliability of the weapons of strategic nuclear and non-nuclear forces, was checked.
The tasks envisaged during the training of the strategic deterrence forces were completed in full, all missiles hit their targets, confirming the specified characteristics.
Western sanctions against Russia, as well as against Belarus, will be introduced in any case, a reason for this will be found, Russian President Vladimir Putin told a press conference following talks with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
Western sanctions against Russia, as well as against Belarus, will be introduced in any case, a reason for this will be found, Russian President Vladimir Putin told a press conference following talks with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
"Sanctions will be imposed in any case. Whether they have a reason today, for example, in connection with the events in Ukraine, or there is no such reason - it will be found, because the goal is different, in this case the goal is to slow down the development of Russia and Belarus," the Russian leader said.
"With this aim, there will always be a reason to introduce certain illegitimate restrictions, and this is nothing more than unfair competition," the Russian leader added.
He stressed that sanctions pressure "is absolutely illegitimate."
"This is a gross violation of international law, but those who are now talking about it (about possible new sanctions) they care about it only when it is advantageous to them. When it is not advantageous to them, they are happy to forget about all the norms of international public right," Putin said.
He noted with regret that Moscow and Minsk have been living "in such a paradigm for many, many years, because those in power, [who] consider themselves the masters of today's life, they always interpret everything only in their own favor and neglect the interests of other [countries]."
"There is only one way to overcome this state of affairs - to strengthen ourselves from within, and above all, of course, in the economy," the head of state stated.
Given the growing military threat on our borders and the pumping of Ukraine with weapons, Belarus and Russia are compelled to look for adequate means of repelling a potential attack on their borders, including on our borders, the southern borders for Belarus, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said following talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday.
"Belarus and the Russian Federation have a common air defence system, a joint regional military force, that is, a joint army, joint training centres, and finally, there is the Military Doctrine of the Union State. We have never hidden these documents or these areas of activity from anyone, everyone knows this," he added.
According to the Belarusian leader, the joint Belarusian-Russian military exercises are quite justified and are conducted as transparently as possible.
"We are not hiding anything from anyone; everything happens in full view of an entire army of attachés and the press," he stated.
I have the impression that some politicians who hold high and responsible positions in the so-called free world are simply pathologically dangerous to both their associates and, most importantly, to their own people, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko said following talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday.
"We are seeing the irresponsibility and, excuse me for being blunt, stupidity of some Western politicians at its best. There is no logic or reasonable explanation for the conduct of the leaders of neighbouring countries, their truly morbid desire to walk the edge," he put it speaking of the situation in the Donbass.
Lukashenko emphasized that for the first time in decades, Union State (Russia and Belarus) and NATO countries have found ourselves on the threshold of a conflict that could, unfortunately, pull much of the entire continent into a maelstrom.
"Considering the urgency of the situation, the President and I have devoted much attention today to this issue and discussed potential joint actions as a response to the aggressive behaviour of our Western partners. I would like to emphasise once again: nobody wants a war, or even an aggravation of the situation or any conflict. We, Russians and Belarusians, do not need this," Lukashenko noted.
Governor of the Rostov Region Vasily Golubev addressed the President with a request for urgent assistance from the federal centre due to the influx of refugees from Donbass.
The President had a telephone conversation with the Acting Emergency Situations Minister. Alexander Chupriyan was instructed to immediately fly to the region in order to organise work on site to create the conditions for accommodating the arriving people and providing them with hot meals and everything necessary, including medical help.
In addition, Vladimir Putin instructed the Government to promptly provide 10,000-ruble payments to every person arriving in the Rostov Region from Donbass.
Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, on Friday announced a mass evacuation of civilians to Russia. This decision was made after night shelling by the Ukrainian security forces, this time especially intense.
Kiev used heavy weapons, which, according to the Minsk agreements, should not be in that area at all. Saboteurs became more active on the territory of the republics.
"During the attack, a security guard of the enterprise, who discovered a group of saboteurs, was wounded. He received medical assistance, there is no threat to life. Special services are on the scene. I appeal to the world community and representatives of international organizations, asking them to critically assess the criminal actions of the Ukrainian side. Armed formations of Ukraine are deliberately trying to sow fear and panic among the civilian population of our republic. And for this they choose vital civilian targets for strikes," Official representative of the People's Militia Department of the DPR Eduard Basurin reported.
All last night, Ukrainian artillerymen fired at the line of contact. The fire was fired from all types of weapons, including 120-mm mortars, which are prohibited by the Minsk agreements. This, say local residents, cannot be remembered since 2015, when the most fierce battles were going on and the Ukrainian army leveled the cities and towns of the people's republics with the ground, and the civilian population did not crawl out of basements and bomb shelters.
Residential buildings are being shelled. A direct blow to an electrical substation in Verkhnetoretsky. All this and neighboring villages - almost 800 houses - were de-energized.
Donetsk today froze to the sound of sirens, because they sound warning of mass shelling. Later it turned out that while this is a training alarm. But against the background of the aggravated situation, the head of the republic decided to start evacuating the civilian population.
"Starting today, a mass exodus of the population to the Russian Federation has been organized. First of all, women, children and the elderly are subject to evacuation. By agreement with the leadership of the Russian Federation in the Rostov region, places for the reception and accommodation of our citizens are ready," Head of the DPR Denis Pushilin stated.
The Russia-Belarus joint military drills do not pose a threat to anyone and are of a purely defensive nature, Russian President Vladimir Putin said after talks with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko in the Kremlin on Friday.
"We jointly commended the Union Resolve 2022 drills whose active phase will last in Belarus until February 20. I must state that these exercises are of a purely defensive nature and pose no threat to anyone," the Russian leader emphasized.
The defense ministries of both countries announced the concept and goals of all these scheduled maneuvers in advance, Putin pointed out.
"These events are attended by a large number of representatives, attaches of foreign countries who themselves observe these exercises," the Russian leader said.
Russia and Belarus will continue collectively taking measures to ensure their security in light of NATO’s activity, Putin said.
"In the course of today’s negotiations, we discussed in detail the issue of strengthening the integrated defense space of Russia and Belarus. We agreed that we would continue collectively taking all necessary measures for providing security of both countries in the wake of NATO’s mounting military activity at the external borders of the Union State," the Russian leader said.
Putin said he was grateful to his Belarusian counterpart for the productive joint work. "I am convinced that the negotiations held today will help further bolster the entire range of allied relations between Russia and Belarus. Tomorrow, as we have agreed, we will take part also in scheduled events related to our joint military activity," the Russian president said.
The United States and other NATO countries are yet unwilling to perceive Russia’s key security demands adequately, Russian President Vladimir Putin said after talks with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko on Friday.
The Russian leader said that at the request of his Belarusian counterpart, he briefed him on the latest contacts with the leaders of Western states on long-term and legally binding security guarantees for Russia from the United States and NATO. Putin said that he considered "it quite natural that the Belarusian allies are also concerned over this issue."
"We discussed the situation developing with regard to Russia’s demands to the West whose key points stipulate that NATO should abandon its designs on eastward expansion, assume the commitment of not deploying strike weapons near the Russian borders and return to the alliance’s military potential and infrastructure in Europe as of 1997 when the Russia-NATO Founding Act was signed. As I have already spoken about, the United States and other members of the alliance are yet unwilling, unfortunately, to perceive these three core elements of our initiative adequately," the Russian president said.
At the same time, the Western counterparts formulated a whole number of ideas on European security, intermediate- and shorter-range missiles and military transparency as the issues that Russia also favors discussing, Putin pointed out.
"And we are ready to move along the negotiating track on condition that all the issues will be discussed comprehensively, without being separated from the key Russian proposals whose implementation is a top priority for us," the Russian leader stressed.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that what Kiev has to do is sit down at the negotiating table with Donbass, the sooner it happens, the better.
"The Belarusian president and I have ascertained that the key to restoring civil peace in Ukraine and to relieving tensions around that country is the implementation of the Minsk agreements. All Kiev has to do is sit down at the negotiating table with representatives of Donbass and agree on political, military, economic and humanitarian measures to end this conflict," Putin said after talks with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Friday.
"The sooner it happens, the better," he added.
"Regrettably, right now we are watching, on the contrary, an escalation in Donbass," the Russian president said.
According to the Russian president, the process aimed at resolving the intra-Ukrainian conflict "still treads water." In his opinion, all efforts and contacts between political advisers to the leaders of the Normandy Four group as well as negotiations with foreign counterparts do not help.
"Kiev does not implement the Minsk accords. In particular, it adamantly rejects direct dialogue with Donetsk and Lugansk, thus sabotaging the implementation of the agreements on amending the constitution, on the special status of Donbass, on local elections and an amnesty - on all the key issues of the Minsk agreements," he stressed.
The Russian president pointed out that human rights are abused on a huge and systematic scale in Ukraine, and discrimination against the Russian-speaking population is being enshrined at the legislative level.
Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR) announced on Friday they would organize the evacuation of civilians to Russia amid the escalation of the situation in Donbass.
Russia’s southern Rostov Region has reported that it is ready to receive Donbass residents. Meanwhile, the Kiev regime keeps denying reports of pending offensive operations in Donbass.
Bombardments Сontinue
The situation at the engagement line in the east of Ukraine escalated on Thursday morning. The Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics reported the most intensive bombardments by the Ukrainian military in recent months. There has been no data on casualties yet; however, it has been reported that the bombardments have damaged some civil infrastructure facilities.
According to the data of the DPR people’s militia, the Ukrainian military has opened fire at the republic’s territory 30 times since the beginning of February 18, leaving residents of the communities of Verkhnetoretskoye and Krasny Partizan without electric power. It was also reported that two sabotage acts were foiled at chemical facilities in the Gorlovka area.
The authorities of France and Germany that make part of the Normandy Four format along with Russia and Ukraine have also expressed their serious concern over the escalating situation.
Evacuation of Сivilians
DPR Head Denis Pushilin announced measures for the mass centralized evacuation of the republic’s residents to Russia in the wake of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s intentions "to give an order to the army shortly to switch to an offensive and implement the plan of invading the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics."
As Pushilin elaborated, under agreement with the Russian leadership, the Rostov Region is ready to receive and accommodate the republic’s citizens and they will be provided with the necessary. In the first place, women, children and the elderly will be evacuated, he said.
Following that, Lugansk has also announced the evacuation of its citizens: LPR Head Leonid Pasechnik has urged residents to move to Russia within the shortest time possible and called on all the men who can hold arms in their hands "to come to the defense of their land."
Commenting on the evacuation of Donbass residents, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov pointed out that he did not know whether these actions were agreed with Moscow. Meanwhile, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Ties with Compatriots Viktor Vodolatsky said that the Rostov Region would cope with the task of receiving Donbass residents. The Crimean authorities have also stated their readiness to receive civilians being evacuated from the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics.
Stance by Russia and Ukraine
The Ukrainian authorities claim that they are not conducting offensive operations in the east of the country and have no relation to attempted subversive acts at Donbass chemical enterprises. Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba assured that Kiev was fully committed "solely to diplomatic settlement."
Russian President Vladimir Putin who commented on the Donbass developments said that he regretted the escalation of the situation in the region and called on Kiev again to sit down at the negotiating table with Donbass representatives and agree upon measures of ending the conflict. "The sooner this happens, the better," the Russian leader emphasized.
President of Russia Vladimir Putin held a meeting with President of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko at the Kremlin on Friday.
The discussion focused on the further development of Russian-Belarusian relations of strategic partnership and alliance, as well as topical problems of European security.
"at least just a bit, ‘dilute’ the western elite with our presence," Lukashenko said.
The Russian Armed Forces will conduct scheduled strategic deterrence force drills on February 19 under the direction of Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, the Defense Ministry reported on Friday.
"On February 19, 2022, a scheduled exercise of the strategic deterrence force will take place under the direction of Supreme Commander-in-Chief Vladimir Putin, during which ballistic and cruise missiles will be launched," the ministry said in a statement.
As the Russian Defense Ministry emphasized, "the strategic deterrence force drills have been planned in advance to inspect the preparedness of military command centers, launch combat teams, the crews of combat ships and strategic missile carriers for accomplishing assigned missions and the reliability of the strategic nuclear and conventional forces’ weapons."
Russia’s scheduled strategic deference force drills will bring together the forces and capabilities of the Aerospace Force, the Southern Military District, the Strategic Missile Force and the Northern and Black Sea Fleets, the ministry specified.
Russia’s strategic command and staff drills involving all the three components of the strategic nuclear forces are conducted annually, normally at the end of the troops’ regular combat training year.
As the practice of these drills suggests, during these maneuvers a strategic missile-carrying submarine of the Northern Fleet fires an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) towards the Kura proving ground in Kamchatka in Russia’s Far East and a nuclear-powered submarine of the Pacific Fleet launches an ICBM against a target at the Chizha firing range in the north of Russia. Also, the Russian Strategic Missile Force test-launches an ICBM and long-range aircraft of Russia’s Aerospace Force fire cruise missiles.
In accordance with the training plan for the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, formations and military units that have completed training tasks at the training grounds make marches to permanent deployment points in a combined way, Russian Defence Ministry spokesperson, Major General Igor Konashenkov said on Thursday.
Loading of heavy armored vehicles is carried out on railway platforms. Separate units make marches in column, escorted by military police.
The commanders of formations and military units, which have completed combat training measures at the training grounds, were tasked with developing schedules for the return of units to their permanent deployment points.
The first units that marched arrive at their military garrisons.
Combat service support units of the Western Military District, which practiced tasks at the training grounds in Kursk region, having marched over a distance of more than 700 km, arrived at the permanent deployment point in Dzerzhinsk, Nizhny Novgorod region, tonight.
Also today, military trains with heavy military equipment of the units of the Southern Military District, which completed tasks at the training grounds in the Crimea, were transferred by rail over a distance of more than 1.5 thousand kilometers to permanent deployment points in the Chechen Republic and the Republic of Dagestan.
Trains with armored vehicles of units of the 1st Tank Army of the Western Military District, which performed combat training tasks at training grounds in the Kursk and Bryansk regions, arrive at their military garrisons in the Nizhny Novgorod region.
Military units and subunits practicing tasks as part of the reaction forces of the Union State as part of the ongoing Russian-Belarusian exercise Union Courage 2022 on the territory of the Republic of Belarus, today and on Saturday, February 19, will hold practical actions with live firing at the training grounds of the Republic.
After the completion of the exercise, the formations and military units of the Russian Federation will return, as always, to their points of permanent deployment.
