Putin annexes the occupied territories of Ukraine, Admiral Di Paola: “A move of desperation”

In a pompous and long-awaited ceremony in the Kremlin, Russian President Valdimir Putin signed and announced the annexation to the Russian Federation of the four Ukrainian territories occupied in Ukraine, the Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. “The people made their choice,” Putin said, referring to the highly contested referendums organized by pro-Russians there. With a clear reference to the West and NATO, the Russian president reminded everyone that “those who live in these regions become our citizens forever”. Kiev responded immediately and submitted an application for rapid NATO membership. On Fanpage.it Admiral Gianpaolo Di Paola he explained the consequences of these developments on the war in Ukraine and the associated risks.

Vladimir Putin’s decision to annex the four Ukrainian territories is the latest move by the Russian president in his battle with Ukraine, but also with the West. What does this mean and what is expected?

The annexation of Ukrainian territories to Russia is a desperate move by Putin. By declaring these territories as part of Mother Russia, in a time of difficulty like the one you are facing, one day you will be able to declare general mobilization justifying it with the need to defend the motherland, counting on the patriotic feeling of the Russian people. Of course this is the meaning of his movement. However, that won’t be so easy for him given what’s been going on, with protests and people fleeing Russia after realizing what’s going on.

Could the annexation also be seen as a move to justify Moscow’s possible use of tactical nuclear weapons?

Obviously he hopes to be able to keep these conquered territories because the attempt to overthrow the Ukrainian government has failed, but the military campaign is not going his way. As he is losing in terms of the military campaign, Putin’s is therefore a preparatory move. He says that this is no longer Ukrainian but Russian territory and therefore to the extent he needs it he is justified in declaring general mobilization but if he were crazy enough to do so he could also use extreme measures based on in Russian military defence. doctrine, saying that they are attacking Russian territory. In this way, Putin puts himself in the position of being able to eventually escalate the conflict even further, justifying it with the attack on mother Russia. This, however, is a move by a man who is clearly in great difficulty.

Gianpaolo Di Paola

Kiev’s reaction to the annexation of its territories announced by Putin was to immediately ask for rapid membership of NATO. Is the Alliance in danger of becoming more and more involved?

A natural reaction from Ukraine. Even if I were Zelensky, I would have said at this point that I am violently and illegally usurping relevant parts of my territory and therefore asking to be able to have a defense by entering NATO. Of course once inside he could tell they are under attack and NATO would go to war with Russia. This is the underlying geopolitical problem.

Putin in his speech again referred to the West and the NATO countries, reminding that they cannot own the world. Is it a symptom that the Russian president already sees Europe and the US as the real opponents of this war and no longer Ukraine?

Putin is inventing an entire ideological framework to justify what he is doing. Even with these statements, he hopes to be able to leverage Russian patriotism. It reminds me of what happened in Italy and the speeches made by us before the World War with the creation of an image detached from reality, but to leverage the population.

Could the annexation of the Donbass areas also be a preparatory move to say that the “special operation” is over and that we can return to the peace table?

Given the current situation, at this point Putin would like such a solution, but the problem is that it is rightly not good for Ukrainians and I believe it cannot be good for the Western world and also for the world at large. The fact that even closer countries, such as China and India, are drifting apart as Putin’s madness grows ever greater is significant. We are in a geopolitical madness.