Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an order on the evening of the 21st to recognize the "Donetsk people's Republic" and "Lugansk people's Republic" in eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian President Zelensky said that Russia's decision was a violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. The United Nations urges all parties to give priority to diplomatic activities to resolve the issue peacefully. Analysts pointed out that the recent tense crisis in Ukraine has escalated again, and where the regional situation will go has aroused great concern of the international community. Under the current situation, all parties concerned should exercise restraint, ease the situation and resolve differences through dialogue and negotiation. Escalation of tensions Members of the Security Council of the Russian Federation held a meeting on the situation in Donbas, eastern Ukraine on the 21st. Putin then delivered a national television speech, talking about the relations between Russia and Ukraine, the situation in eastern Ukraine, Russian security and other issues. He signed the orders on recognizing the "people's Republic of Donetsk" and the "people's Republic of Lugansk", as well as the treaties of friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance between Russia and the two "republics". Zelensky condemned the Russian decision. He suggested the urgent convening of the "Normandy model" Quartet summit and pledged that Ukraine would be committed to resolving the conflict through political and diplomatic means, but would not succumb to provocation. President Michelle of the European Council and President von delaine of the European Commission jointly issued a statement saying that Russia had violated international law and the Minsk agreement, and the EU would impose sanctions on those involved in the "illegal act". NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg said that Russia's move would undermine efforts to resolve conflicts in relevant regions. US President Joe Biden signed an executive order to prohibit Americans from carrying out new business activities in the two regions. UN Secretary General Guterres issued a statement through his spokesman, urging all parties concerned to immediately cease hostilities, protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, prevent any action and speech that may escalate the situation, and give priority to diplomatic activities to solve all problems peacefully. Speaking to Secretary of state Blinken, China's State Councilor and foreign minister Wang Yi said that the evolution of the Ukraine issue has so far been closely related to the delay in the effective implementation of the new Minsk agreement. China will continue to engage with all parties according to the merits of the matter itself. The situation in Ukraine is deteriorating. China once again calls on all parties to exercise restraint, recognize the importance of implementing the principle of the indivisibility of security, ease the situation and resolve differences through dialogue and negotiation. Multiple causes Analysts believe that there are two main reasons for Russia's decision. In the short term, the new Minsk agreement is difficult to be effectively implemented, and the situation in eastern Ukraine continues to deteriorate; In the long run, the US led NATO has always ignored Russia's core security demands. Russia previously sought to return the Ukrainian issue to the framework of the new Minsk agreement through dialogue by publicly calling for security, criticizing the United States for exaggerating the war and intensive consultations with France, Germany and other countries. However, since the 17th of this month, the situation in eastern Ukraine has deteriorated. The Ukrainian government and local civilian armed forces accuse each other of launching provocative shelling in the contact line. Civilian armed forces in eastern Ukraine then began a large-scale centralized evacuation of local residents to Russia, saying they were in danger of launching military operations in Ukraine. From the current situation, the implementation of the new Minsk agreement is still very difficult. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman zaharova said on the 22nd that Russia's decision to recognize the two "republics" in eastern Ukraine is based on the fact that the relevant agreements no longer work for the Ukrainian government. For a long time, Russia has been seeking a legal guarantee from NATO not to expand eastward and not to include Ukraine and other countries in NATO. However, since Biden became president of the United States, he has taken a tough stand against Russia, expressed support for Ukraine's accession to NATO and increased military assistance to Ukraine, resulting in continued tension in Ukraine. Putin said in his speech on the 21st that NATO has continuously expanded eastward in the past few years and deployed its weapon system closer to the Russian border, completely ignoring Russian concerns, protests and warnings; Under such circumstances, Russia took response measures. Game complexity Public opinion believes that in order to show support for Ukraine, the United States and Europe may soon continue to introduce new sanctions against Russia, but Russia will not change its core security demands due to sanctions pressure. The game between the West and Russia may enter a more complex stage in the long process of sanctions and anti sanctions and the escalation of military confrontation. Lukiyanov, editor in chief of Russia in global politics, said that the degree of Western sanctions may be highly related to the intensity of conflict in the contact line of Donbas, and the order of sanctions may be officials, businessmen, bank accounts, exports of high-tech products and energy industries, Kicking Russia out of the swift payment system will be an important part of the sanctions. Commenting on the Russian decision, Medvedev, vice president of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, said that Russia will once again face sanctions, threats, political pressure and public opinion offensive in different aspects. "We have experienced all this and are no longer afraid.". He said that Russia's opponents would ask Russia to return to the negotiating table to discuss all issues. Analysts believe that the game around the situation in Ukraine is Russia seeking a breakthrough in security. So far, the response of the United States and NATO to Russia's security demands has obviously failed to satisfy Russia. With new changes in the situation in Ukraine, Russia may continue to adopt different strategies in order to achieve its strategic objectives on security. (Xinhua News Agency)