Explained: Vladimir Putin's brinksmanship over Luhansk and Donetsk

Russia's decision to recognize the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics has set the cat among the pigeons with NATO terming it as a serious escalation by Moscow. 

NATO Secretary Jens Stoltenberg said Russian President Vladimir Putin had now moved from covert attempts to destabilize Ukraine, to overt military action. Stating that the decision further undermines Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, NATO said that Moscow's move damages efforts to find a peaceful resolution to the conflict and has grave consequences for European security. In fact, Stoltenberg termed it as 'further invasion of a country which is already invaded'.

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To understand Putin's game plan behind recognizing the breakaway Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics from eastern Ukraine, Asianet Newsable reached out to Dr Sandeep Tripathi, foreign expert and president of Forum for Global Studies.

According to Dr Sandeep, "This is part of Putin's plan to put pressure on Ukraine not to become a member of NATO. That's because Russia sees it as a major threat to it security. Ukraine too has not made its position clear with regard to any moves to join NATO."

#RussiaUkraineCrisis: Dr Sandeep Tripathi, foreign expert and President of Forum for Global Studies, explains Putin's game plan behind recognizing the breakaway Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics from eastern Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/f37QIAceDa

— Asianet Newsable (@AsianetNewsEN) February 23, 2022

The expert suggested that in the aftermath of United States President Joe Biden's repeated claims that Russia would invade Ukraine on February 16 (and then on another day) may have provoked Putin. And instead of doing what Biden had been speculating about, Putin resorted to a 'tactical position'. He took the same position in 2008 in Georgia. "When Georgia started showing its inclination to become a member of the NATO, South Ossetia was declared as an independent nation-state. Hence, this is a very calculated move by Putin," Dr Sandeep said.

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"Putin has tried to convince the people of Russia that Ukraine has never been a nation-state even though it officially became so in 1991. In fact, Russia was among the nations to recognize it as a nation-state. In his speech, Putin sought to highlight some of the atrocities committed in the Donbas region," he added.

NATO, meanwhile, has flatly refused Russia's demanding to sign a legally binding agreement to remove all NATO infrastructure, all NATO forces from the territories of those allies that joined the alliance after 1997. 

Also Read: Amid Ukraine faceoff, Russian Parliament okays use of armed forces abroad