Russian envoy to India backs Putin's decision to recognise DPR, LPR; slams US intervention

Russian Charge d'affaires to India, Roman Babushkin held a virtual press conference on Wednesday and presented the Russian perspective after President Vladimir Putin recognised the independence of Ukraine's breakaway regions - the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR).

He stated that the independence of these separatist regions was a long-pending issue to prevent "genocide" being practised by Ukraine. Babushkin claimed that Russia has been trying to initiate dialogue on the issue since 2015 but it didn't take place and the decision taken by President Putin to recognise their independence was the only way for the people of these regions to live safely. 

"Today Donetsk & Luhansk applied officially to Russia for recognition of their independence. But from the very beginning, the US started its internal influence in domestic affairs in countries on all post-Soviet space, including Ukraine," he stated at the press conference. 

The Russian diplomat also accused the West of using Ukraine for their geopolitical game against Moscow by supplying weapons to Ukraine. Babushkin claimed that the US military supply to Ukraine has exceeded $2.7 billion since 2014. He also accused Ukraine of blocking the development in the Eastern flank. 

'Ukraine deprived people of human rights in eastern flank': Russian diplomat

"Ukrainian government deprived people of their basic human rights in its breakaway regions. They also carried out continuous shelling in those regions and also on Russian territory," Babushkin alleged. 

He further accused West of conveniently ignoring the situation for all these years and stated that it was a well-established practise by the US and its allies of "double standards". The senior Russian diplomat went on to say that the West talks about democracy and human rights only when it is interested in its own convenience.

Tensions escalate in Ukraine's eastern flank amid continued shelling

It is significant to mention here that the Donetsk People's Republic declared a state of emergency on Monday, February 21, owing to the shutdown of a pumping station and the discontinuation of the central drinking water supply.

According to the People's Militia of the self-proclaimed DPR, an electrical power station and the Central City Hospital in Donetsk were destroyed as a result of a mortar strike by Ukrainian security forces. Tensions have escalated in Ukraine's fragile eastern flank in the past few days owing to intense artillery shelling at Ukrainian Army barrages across the line of control. 

Image: Twitter/@ANI