Donbass Voices 2 Dr Iry Bell 'I was in Maidan Square' Donbass medical doctor now a refugee in London

Dr Iry Bell was born in the Donbass and in the Maidan Square, Kiev for the protest and coup-detat in February 2014. She believes the protests were led from outside Ukraine, by the EU and the US and have created a tragedy for her country. As she has a child she felt she had to flee the Donbass war zone despite being a medical doctor whose skills would be needed there. She wants to see an immdiate end to the fighting, a genuine peace agreement as soon as possible.

Putin recognises independence of Ukraine breakaway regions

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/21/russia-to-recognise-ukraine-breakaway-region-kremlin-confirms

The Russian president recognised two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine as independent entities.

Moscow's move could torpedo a last-minute bid for a summit with US President Joe Published On 21 Feb 202221 Feb 2022

Russian President Vlamidir Putin has signed the presidential decree recognising the independence of separatist regions in eastern Ukraine – a move that will severely ratchet up tensions with the West amid fears of a Russian invasion.

Putin’s announcement comes after a meeting of the presidential Security Council and paves the way for Russia to openly send troops and weapons to the long-running conflict pitting Ukrainian forces against Moscow-backed rebels.

A 2015 peace deal ended large-scale fighting, but violence has simmered and has seen a spike in recent weeks amid the wider crisis.

In a lengthy televised address, Putin described Ukraine as an integral part of Russia’s history and said eastern Ukraine was ancient Russian lands and that he was confident that the Russian people would support his decision.

He said that Ukraine never had a tradition of genuine statehood and complained that post-Soviet Ukraine had wanted everything it could from Moscow without doing anything in return.

Putin announced his decision in phone calls to the leaders of Germany and France, who voiced disappointment, the Kremlin said, and was later shown on state television signing the decree.

Moscow’s move could torpedo a last-minute bid for a summit with US President Joe Biden to prevent Russia from invading Ukraine.

Russia denies any plan to attack its neighbour, but it has threatened unspecified “military-technical” action unless it receives sweeping security guarantees, including a promise that Ukraine will never join NATO.

Televised address

Putin delivered a long, televised address that ended with his announcement, delving into history as far back as the Ottoman empire and as recent as the tensions over NATO’s eastward expansion – a key irritant for Moscow in the present crisis.

“I deem it necessary to make a decision that should have been made a long time ago – to immediately recognise the independence and sovereignty of the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic,” Putin said....