A new story from the State propaganda outlet Russia Today also known as ‘RT‘ has disclosed Moscow’s plans to establish military bases in the breakaway Ukrainian regions surrounding the cities of Donetsk and Luhansk known as the Donbass. According to the Russian Government, the ability of the Russian military to establish installations on Ukrainian soil is baked into the “Friendship, Cooperation and mutual assistance” agreements signed by Vladimir Putin with the leaders of the Russian-funded rebellions. Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko explained what moves his country’s armed forces are considering taking in the region to reporters on February 22nd.
“So far, there hasn’t been any talk about setting up bases” he said. “But if necessary, we will do everything that needs to be done. The agreement stipulates that,” he said.
Russia Discloses The Same Plans Used in Georgia and Crimea
Russia Today wrote, “His comments come shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree officially recognizing the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics as sovereign nations. Following the Kremlin’s affirmation of their independence, Putin ordered the Russian armed forces to “secure the peace” in the newly recognized Donbass republics. Within hours, unconfirmed reports and videos emerged purporting to show Russian troops moving across the border.”
“Under the terms of a friendship and co-operation deal ratified by the parliaments of the two breakaway regions on Tuesday, Moscow can establish military bases on their territory. However, Ukraine and many Western nations accuse Moscow of having sent troops to the region in 2014 and maintaining a military presence there since then. On Tuesday, the EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, claimed that deployments of Russian troops had begun crossing the border shortly after the decision to grant thm recognition.”
Reuters reported, that a “witness saw tanks and other military hardware moving through the separatist-controlled city of Donetsk after Putin formally recognised the breakaway regions and ordered the deployment of Russian forces to “keep the peace”.
“About five tanks were seen in a column on the edge of Donetsk and two more in another part of town, a Reuters reporter said. No insignia were visible on the vehicles.”
In 2010, Russia and the Georgian rebel region of Abkhazia signed a deal allowing Moscow to establish a military base on Georgian soil, further raising tensions with Georgia at the time as reported by RadioFree Europe. At the UN, Urkaine’s representative Sergiy Kyslytsya noted, regarding the Russian decree that recognized Donetsk and Luhansk as independent, “Today the Kremlin copy-pasted word by word the decree on Georgia of 2008. Word by word. Copy pasted. No creativity whatsoever. The copying machine in the Kremlin works very well.” It seems clear that the strategic plan was copy-pasted as well. It worked in Georgia, it worked in Crimea… will it be allowed to work in Donetsk and Luhansk?
