`The United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) have begun a brazen transformation process aimed at turning Ukrainian territory into a place for military operations,` Russian President Vladimir Putin said on television.

These comments by Putin accompanied the announcement of recognition of the independence of Donetsk and Luhansk, two separatist regions in eastern Ukraine.

`I think it is necessary to make a decision that should have been made a long time ago, which is to immediately recognize the independence and sovereignty of the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic,` Putin said.

Although he did not specify his exact intentions towards Ukraine, Putin explained Russia’s view that Ukraine’s current borders only exist due to the hasty dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, without considering the deep relationship

Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke at the Kremlin on February 21.

`For us, Ukraine is not just a neighboring country, but an indispensable part of history, culture and spirit,` Putin sent a message not only to Russians, but also mentioned `the

Ukraine declared independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, after the vast majority of people agreed to this in a referendum and Russia quickly recognized it.

Commentators assess that Putin’s concerns have deepened since Ukraine’s Orange Revolution in 2004, when a wave of widespread protests helped make a pro-Western candidate president instead of a pro-Western ally.

Also in 2014, Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine and supported a separatist movement that broke out in the east of its neighbor, a territory that Putin then called Novorossiya, meaning `new Russia`.

In addition to the separatist movement in Donetsk and Luhansk that broke out into a prolonged war, pro-Russian protests were also held in other areas of Ukraine in 2014, but were blocked by local law enforcement or

`The criminals who committed that brutal act have not been punished. No one is hunting them, but we know their names and will do everything to punish them,` he declared.

WSJ commentators assessed that Putin’s speech carried a clear message of challenge to the post-Cold War international order dominated by the West.

`Therefore, it is not surprising that Ukrainian society faced a rise in extreme nationalism, which quickly took the form of harsh anti-Russianism,` Putin said.

Donbass region and Crimea peninsula.

In fact, Ukrainian governments have pursued closer security, political and trade relations with the West, a policy that Putin sees as anti-Russian.

Polls show that more than half of Ukraine’s population supports the country joining NATO and the European Union (EU), rather than joining any organization led by Russia.

`I don’t know if European diplomats and politicians are fully aware of the complexity of the problem they face as Putin pushes his agenda,` Aleksei Chesnakov,

`Putin wants to make more drastic moves militarily, politically and economically. He is ready,` Chesnakov assessed.

See more:

– Recognizing two separatist regions of Ukraine, what does Putin want?

– How can the West retaliate against Russia?

– 5 questions about the Ukraine crisis

– Four months of boiling Russia-Ukraine crisis

– Calculation makes the US repeatedly accuse Russia of ‘about to attack Ukraine’