President Vladimir Putin has ordered the Russian military to carry out “peacekeeping functions” on the territory of the breakaway “republics” in eastern Ukraine. This is stated in the texts of the presidential decrees recognizing the independence of the self-proclaimed “Donetsk People’s Republic” (DNR) and “Luhansk People’s Republic” (LNR), which Putin signed on Monday, February 21. The documents were published on the Russian government’s official legal information portal on Monday evening.

Putin has recognized the breakaway ‘republics’ in eastern Ukraine. But what does Moscow consider their ‘borders’? Alexander Ermochenko / Reuters / Scanpix / LETA Vladimir Putin has officially recognized the independence of the self-proclaimed “republics” in eastern Ukraine. The Russian president signed the corresponding decree on Monday, February 21, following a lengthy address to the nation.

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered that the Russian armed forces "perform peacekeeping functions" in the self-proclaimed republics of Donbass. This is stated in Putin's decrees on the recognition of the DNR and LNR . These documents are published on the official portal of legal information. The Kremlin website reports that Putin signed treaties of friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance with the head of the DPR Denis Pushilin and the head of the LPR Leonid Pasechnik.

The second hearing on the new case against Alexei Navalny was held in the Pokrov prison. Witnesses were questioned at the hearing. One of them, former FBK employee Fyodor Gorozhanko, called the case "absurd in content and falsely staged in plot" — despite the fact that he testified as a prosecution witness. "Despite the fact that I am a prosecution witness, I am speaking as a defense witness. I believe that Navalny spoke in accordance with the current legislation," Gorozhanko said.

Putin recognized the independence of the LPR and the DPR and signed the friendship agreements with them Subscribe to our YouTube President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin made an appeal about the situation around the Donbass. Almost an hourly appeal, which included a historical excursion, ended with a statement on the recognition of the independence of the LPR and the DPR .

Medusa watched live the reactions in the country and the world On the afternoon of February 21, President Vladimir Putin convened an extraordinary meeting of the Council of People's Commissars of the Russian Federation, at which the issue of recognizing the independence of the DPR and LPR was raised.

The President spoke for about an hour. Retelling his speech in one paragraph To explain our motives, first a few words about history. Modern Ukraine was created by the Bolsheviks, Donbass was literally squeezed into its composition. This country can be called Ukraine named after Lenin, he is its architect. After the collapse of the USSR, Russia was friends with Ukraine and helped it - but in Kyiv they decided to build statehood, denying everything that unites us.

Russia recognizes the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics as independent states. This was stated by Russian President Vladimir Putin in an address to the Russians. “The topic of my speech is the events in Ukraine and why it is so important for us, for Russia,” the President of the Russian Federation began his speech.

The dollar exchange rate on the Moscow Exchange during the display of Vladimir Putin's address, which ended with a statement recognizing the independence of the DPR and LPR, rose by 3.5% (by 2.7 rubles) and exceeded the mark of 80 rubles. It is reported by RBC with reference to trading data. As of 22:08 Moscow time, the dollar was worth 80.1 rubles. The euro rose by 3.36% (2.94 rubles) to 90.49 rubles.

Serbian film director Emir Kusturica will take the position of chief director of the Central Academic Theater of the Russian Army. This was reported to Interfax by the press service of the RF Ministry of Defense. With such a proposal, Kusturica was approached by the head of the department, Sergei Shoigu, during a meeting on February 21.

Anatoly Maltsev / EPA / Scanpix / Leta An extraordinary and public meeting of the Russian Security Council was held in Moscow, whose members “convinced” President Vladimir Putin to recognize the independence of the self -proclaimed DPR and the LPR. The official media reported that the meeting was collected after the appeals of the heads of these “republics”, it was allegedly broadcast live . Meanwhile, a lot indicates that we were shown a record.

Update: Following a lengthy video address delivered on Monday evening, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree recognizing the independence of the Donetsk and Luhansk “people’s republics.” Russian President Vladimir Putin has informed French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz that he intends to sign a decree recognizing the independence of the Donetsk and Luhansk “people’s republics” immediately.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has convened an urgent meeting of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) of the country. He tweeted about it. Zelensky made this decision amid statements made at an extraordinary meeting of the Russian Security Council, as well as after urgent consultations with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron.

Very short analysis of "Medusa" Alexander Ermochenko / Reuters / Scanpix / Leta Vladimir Putin announced the recognition of the independence of the DPR and LPR. Earlier, at a meeting of the Security Council dedicated to this topic, the Minister of the Interior Vladimir Kolokoltsev proposed recognizing the self -proclaimed republics within the "historical" borders of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions of Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin informed the leaders of Germany and France, Olaf Scholz and Emmanuel Macron, that he plans to sign a decree recognizing the independence of the DNR and LNR in the near future. The Kremlin announced this, Interfax reports . Macron and Scholz “expressed their disappointment with this development. At the same time, they indicated their readiness to continue contacts,” the Kremlin said in a statement.