“We are committed to the peaceful and diplomatic path, we will follow it and only it,” Zelenskyy said.
QUICK FACTS:
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is urging citizens not to panic after Russian President Vladimir Putin officially recognized two regions in his nation controlled by Moscow-backed separatists, The Hill reports.
- “We are committed to the peaceful and diplomatic path, we will follow it and only it,” Zelenskyy said in a speech on Monday night.
- Ukraine’s leader went so far as to say he and his country “are not afraid of anything and anybody, we owe nothing to no one, and we will give nothing to no one.”
- In opposition to President Zelenskyy’s focus on peace, Biden’s White House on Tuesday began referring to Russian troop deployments in eastern Ukraine as an “invasion,” The Associated Press reports.
- The White House decided to refer to Russia’s actions as an “invasion” because of the situation on the ground, according to a U.S. official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
WHAT PUTIN SAID:
- Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday denied wanting to “rebuild” the Russian empire, Insider reports.
- Putin said in a Monday speech, “Ukraine has never had its own authentic statehood. There has never been a sustainable statehood in Ukraine.”
- He argued that Ukraine was a creation of the Soviet Union under Vladimir Lenin, its first leader, Insider notes.
- Putin also claimed that Ukraine was a part of Russia’s historic territory, saying in his speech, “Let me emphasize once again that Ukraine for us is not just a neighboring country. It is an integral part of our own history, culture, spiritual space.”
- “These are our comrades, relatives, among whom are not only colleagues, friends, former colleagues, but also relatives, people connected with us by blood, family ties,” he added.
BACKGROUND:
- Putin on Monday formally recognized the two breakaway regions in Ukraine—the Donetsk and Luhansk regions—as independent and indicated he would send troops to the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic, The Hill notes.
- Russia said the troops would be sent to “keep the peace,” Reuters reported.
