European leaders said Tuesday morning that Kremlin forces had arrived in the self-proclaimed republics. European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said that “Russian troops are on Ukrainian soil” but that it was not a “fully fledged invasion.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said hours before that “we will give up nothing to no one” and that Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders “will stay that way, despite any statements or actions taken by the Russian Federation.”
Russia’s maneuvers appeared to be increasingly out of step with world opinion and were sharply rebuked by several nations at a hastily convened meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Monday night. The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of wanting the world to “travel back in time to a time before the United Nations — to a time when empires ruled the world” and said he was testing the international rules-based system.
Here’s what to know
- President Biden signed an executive order Monday blocking trade and investment by Americans in two separatist enclaves of Ukraine. Administration officials said additional measures — including more sanctions — would be announced Tuesday, separate from the strict measures promised if Russia further invades Ukraine.
- The State Department moved its personnel from Ukraine to Poland on Monday amid fears of Russia’s “plans for an invasion at any moment,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.
- Beijing continues to walk a tightrope of supporting Russia without outright endorsing its actions in Ukraine, with China’s ambassador to the United Nations calling on all parties involved to “seek reasonable solutions” and address concerns based on “equality and mutual respect.”
UNDERSTANDING THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE CRISIS
Ukraine calls on soldiers to brace for possible conflict: ‘Defend our country’ and ‘overcome fear’
Ukraine’s defense minister called on the military to prepare to defend the country after Russia’s dispatch of forces into the contested east raised the specter of escalating war.
“Dear soldiers and sailors, sergeants and officers, generals and admirals … the darkness of uncertainty has fallen,” Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said Tuesday in a message to Ukrainian troops. “Our choice is very simple — to defend our country, our home, our family,” he said.
“There are difficult trials ahead. There will be losses,” his statement added. “We will have to go through pain, overcome fear and despair. But we will definitely win. Because we are on our land, and the truth is behind us.”
The call to arms came after Russian President Vladimir Putin formally recognized two pro-Moscow separatist enclaves as independent and sent forces there for what he called “peacekeeping” purposes, an escalation of the crisis that drew rebukes from Western nations.
European officials said Tuesday that Russian troops have entered disputed territories in eastern Ukraine. The European Union’s foreign policy chief described it as not a “fully fledged invasion,” although he said the Kremlin’s latest moves would prompt sanctions.
Ukrainian government troops and pro-Russian separatist forces have been locked for years in a conflict in the eastern region, where shelling and cease-fire violations have intensified in recent days.
U.K. to impose ‘first barrage’ of sanctions on Russia
LONDON — Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Tuesday that the United Kingdom will “immediately institute a package of economic sanctions” that will hit the “interests that have been supporting Russia’s war machine.”
Johnson will announce details of the sanction package in the House of Commons later in the day.
Speaking to broadcasters after an early-morning meeting of COBRA, the government’s emergency committee, Johnson said that sanctions will “hit Russia very hard” and that this would be “just the first of a barrage of U.K. economic sanctions” against Russia “because we expect, I’m afraid, that there is more Russian irrational behavior to come.”
London has long been a playground for Russian oligarchs, who pour billions into the city’s property market. Johnson said that “if Russian companies are prevented from raising capital on the U.K. financial markets, if we unpeel the facade of Russian ownership of companies, of property, it will start to hurt.”
However, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov brushed off the threat of sanctions on Tuesday.
“Our European, American, British colleagues will not stop and will not calm down until they have exhausted all their possibilities for the so-called ‘punishment of Russia,’” Lavrov said. “Well, we’re used to it. We know that sanctions will be imposed anyway.”
Separatist official calls on Ukraine to withdraw forces from territory controlled by Kyiv’s forces
MOSCOW — A separatist official in eastern Ukraine called on the Kyiv government Tuesday to “withdraw” its forces or the region, backed by Russia’s military, would “take measures,” according to Russian state-owned media, an ominous warning that could signal a further invasion of Ukraine.
Russia on Monday recognized the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR), two Moscow-backed separatist regions. Together, they occupy about a third of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, or regions, of eastern Ukraine but claim the entire areas.
The territorial claims include the key port city of Mariupol, under government control, on the Sea of Azov.
The text of Russia’s agreement to recognize the breakaway regions says it is doing so within their “existing borders,” yet some separatist and Russian officials immediately interpreted it to include territory under the control of the Kyiv government. It provides for joint enforcement of the borders and for Russian military bases in the region.
This means that separatists could launch military action against Ukraine, backed by Russian forces, to try to seize the claimed areas, constituting a further Russian invasion.
Almost as soon as the ink was dry on the Kremlin’s recognition treaty, an official from the separatist LPR parliament, Dmitry Khoroshilov, asserted the region’s claim to the whole of the Luhansk region and called on Ukraine to withdraw its forces “voluntarily,” Russia’s state-owned RIA Novosti news agency reported.
“Our territory is the whole Luhansk region. We call on Ukraine to withdraw its troops voluntarily, otherwise measures will be taken,” the agency quoted him as saying.
Fighting in eastern Ukraine has continued since 2014, killing almost 14,000 people.
Earlier, Leonid Kalashnikov, head of Russia’s Committee on Commonwealth of Independent States Affairs in the country’s lower house of parliament, or State Duma, said the treaty “did not specify” what territory was recognized, but he said he believed it covered the entire Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts claimed by the separatists.
The ambiguity echoed from one official to another, leaving Russia wiggle room to interpret the deal as it wishes.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the “nuances” would be sorted out later. Andrei Klimov, deputy chairman of the upper house’s foreign affairs committee, told state television that Russia recognized the “actual borders,” adding: “We shall remind you that part of the territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions are controlled by Kyiv.”
Russia’s parliament was expected to rubber-stamp the recognition treaties Tuesday.
Why are Donetsk and Luhansk in Ukraine’s Donbas region a flash point for Putin?
The Donbas region in eastern Ukraine has been a flash point in the escalating crisis between Russia and Ukraine, which hinges on land borders and strategic influence.
The region became even more critical Monday as Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized the independence of two Moscow-backed breakaway enclaves there that call themselves the Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic. The Russian leader also signed decrees ordering military forces into the region for “peacekeeping” purposes. The formal recognition marks a considerable escalation that signals an end to the seven-year peace deal known as the Minsk agreement. It’s also seen as one that could give the Russian leader a pretext to invade Ukraine.
The formal recognition prompted a chorus of condemnation from Western leaders, with some announcing sanctions, holding emergency meetings and roundly accusing Moscow for breaching international law.
Biden blocks U.S. trade, investment in breakaway areas
President Biden signed an executive order Monday blocking trade and investment by Americans in two separatist enclaves of Ukraine after Moscow recognized the breakaway regions’ independence and announced that it was sending troops to the area for “peacekeeping” purposes.
Administration officials said additional measures — including more sanctions — would be announced Tuesday, though these would be separate from the strict measures promised if Moscow further invades Ukraine.
Britain is also preparing new sanctions. Prime Minister Boris Johnson will convene an emergency committee meeting Tuesday morning to agree on measures, which Downing Street officials described as “significant.” London also said it would “explore sending further defensive support to Ukraine, at the request of the Ukrainian Government.”
A White House statement said President Vladimir Putin’s Monday maneuver “contradicts Russia’s commitments under the Minsk agreements, refutes Russia’s claimed commitment to diplomacy, and undermines Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
The Donbas region in eastern Ukraine has been a flash point in the crisis. Putin’s decision to recognize the two enclaves — where Moscow has backed rebel forces since 2014 — is a considerable escalation that Putin could use to justify an attack in those locations.
Biden’s order prohibits “new investment” by Americans, wherever they are located, into the separatist regions that call themselves the Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic.
It also bars the “importation into the United States, directly or indirectly, of any goods, services, or technology from the covered regions.”
Foreign policy experts say the curbs probably won’t be sufficient on their own to deter Putin from further military action, but they were a way to buy time for the United States and its allies to take the next step.
“It’s weak symbolism. It’s not strong enough,” said Daniel Fried, a sanctions expert at the Atlantic Council and a former U.S. ambassador to Poland. “I think they’re going to go beyond it. I think they have to.”
The White House said Monday that the executive order is “distinct from the swift and severe economic measures we are prepared to issue with Allies and partners in response to a further Russian invasion of Ukraine,” adding that the administration is “continuing to closely consult with Ukraine and with Allies and partners on next steps and urge Russia to immediately deescalate.”
Fried said he doesn’t expect any measures announced Tuesday to go as far as cutting off a key gas pipeline between Russia and Germany — which would risk “burning up a lot of political capital” with Berlin.
Germany has promised an “absolutely united” front with the U.S. and other NATO allies, but Chancellor Olaf Scholz has stopped short of publicly promising to halt the $11 billion Nord Stream 2 project. Fried said more plausible measures were those that target Russia’s financial sector, such as “going after one of the larger of the big [Russian] banks.”
Kremlin moves rebuked by many at U.N. Security Council
Russia faced a sharp rebuke from several members of the U.N. Security Council on Monday as nations from Europe, Africa and North America criticized the Kremlin for recognizing breakaway regions of Ukraine and sending troops it characterizes as “peacekeepers.”
Criticism from countries during the evening emergency session appeared to irritate Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzya, who accused the Security Council in aggregate for misunderstanding the conflict. “Most of you did not find any place for the nearly 4 million residents of Donbas,” he said, referring to a region of eastern Ukraine that includes the separatist-controlled territories of Donetsk and Luhansk.
Ukraine’s ambassador to the United Nations, who requested the meeting, offered a defiant statement even as his country was surrounded by more than 150,000 Russian troops. “We are on our land. We are not afraid of anything or anyone. We owe nothing to anyone and we will not give away anything to anyone,” Sergiy Kyslytsya said. “There should be no doubt whatsoever.”
Some African nations, including Kenya and Ghana, criticized the Russian activity and compared it to colonial aggression from centuries past.
The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, also said Russia’s aggression belonged to another era. “Putin wants the world to travel back in time to a time before the United Nations — to a time when empires ruled the world,” she said. “Colleagues, President Putin is testing our international system.”
Representatives from Britain, France, Ireland and Norway issued blistering charges against Moscow, saying the Kremlin’s moves violated international law.
“The actions Russia has chosen today will have severe and far-reaching consequences,” said Barbara Woodward, Britain’s U.N. ambassador. “An invasion of Ukraine unleashes the forces of war, death and destruction on the people of Ukraine.” She, along with the United States, promised to impose “severe economic consequences” on Russia.
China and India took largely neutral positions, calling on both sides to listen to each other and act with restraint.
Russian forces have entered Ukraine’s breakaway territories, European officials say
European officials said Tuesday that Russian forces had arrived in the breakaway territories of eastern Ukraine that Moscow on Monday formally recognized as independent.
“Russian troops have entered in Donbas. We consider Donbas part of Ukraine,” the European Union foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said in Paris. “I wouldn’t say that [it is] a fully-fledged invasion, but Russian troops are on Ukrainian soil,” he added. He said the E.U. would make a decision on sanctions on Tuesday in response to Moscow’s latest moves.
Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Błaszczak also said in a radio interview Tuesday he could confirm that Russian forces entered the territories, describing it as a violation of Ukraine’s borders and international law.
After recognizing the two pro-Russian separatist enclaves in the Donbas region, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered forces into the territories for “peacekeeping” purposes, dramatically escalating a crisis that has put Europe on the brink of war.
The Kremlin has in the past denied putting troops in the disputed territories, though Ukrainian, European and American officials have previously documented their presence there.
China faces diplomatic quandary in backing Moscow over Ukraine moves
China did not explicitly endorse Moscow’s latest moves toward Ukraine but still recognized what it called Russia’s legitimate security concerns, in Beijing’s latest tightrope act over the crisis in Eastern Europe.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday called on all parties involved to “exercise restraint” and resolve the crisis through negotiation, in a phone conversation with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. He still, however, referred to countries’ security concerns, a nod toward Russia’s assertions on Ukraine.
Speaking at an emergency U.N. meeting Monday night, Zhang Jun, China’s representative to the United Nations, urged all parties to “seek reasonable solutions” and address each country’s concerns based on “equality and mutual respect.”
The comments from top Chinese diplomats — coming after Russia’s commitment to deploy troops to the breakaway Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, which Putin recognized as independent — underline Beijing’s conflicted position as the Ukraine crisis unfolds against the backdrop of warming ties with Moscow.
Beijing has long said that noninterference and respect for territorial integrity form the core of its foreign policy, principles of international law that China often cites when pushing back against criticism of its measures to exert more control in Hong Kong, Tibet or Xinjiang — or its claims to the self-governed democracy of Taiwan.
For China to support a Russian invasion of Ukraine would harm already deteriorating ties with Western nations, but Beijing is also eager to bolster its burgeoning relationship with Moscow to counter what China sees as U.S. efforts to suppress its rise as a global power.
At the start of the Winter Olympics in China, the two nations signed a joint statement pledging a strategic relationship of “no limits.” As the Ukraine crisis has escalated just after the close of the Winter Games, Beijing has joined Moscow in repeatedly criticizing the United States and NATO for provoking what it says are Russia’s “legitimate” security concerns.
Still, over the weekend, Wang, the foreign minister, said the “sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of any country should be respected and safeguarded,” adding, “Ukraine is no exception.”
Wielding the threat of war, a new, more aggressive Putin steps forward
He is the man with the very long table who seats world leaders and ministers at an almost comical distance. He is a lone figure in a dark coat laying a wreath at a cemetery in St. Petersburg or sitting solo in his Olympic viewing booth in Beijing. He is aging, isolated, more powerful than ever, and on the brink of waging a possibly catastrophic war.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, in the 22 years since he first took office, has evolved from an afterthought of Washington leaders to the world’s most watched and pleaded-with man, using reconstituted Russian military might to force the globe to reckon with his interests after having complained for years about being ignored.
His latest belligerence follows two years of pandemic isolation and eight years of Western sanctions that analysts say have fed the bunker mentality Putin has exhibited since his earliest years.
Japan says ready to join sanctions effort in case of Russian invasion
TOKYO — Japan stands ready with its Western allies to impose sanctions on Russia in case of a renewed invasion of Ukraine, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Tuesday.
Kishida declined to specify which sanctions are under consideration, but Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper reported Tuesday that the country is weighing an export ban that includes semiconductors, artificial intelligence and robot technology, in addition to restrictions on Russian banks.
The sanctions would be more wide-ranging than those Tokyo imposed in 2014 in response to Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region, though they would be largely symbolic as Japanese exports of such tech products are limited.
The United States and European countries have vowed to issue fresh economic sanctions in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s dramatic escalation of the Ukraine crisis Monday, when he recognized the independence of two Moscow-backed separatist regions in eastern Ukraine and ordered in Russian “peacekeeping” forces.
Kishida said Tuesday that Japan “strongly condemns” Russia’s actions, calling them a “violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
“We will warily watch over the developing situation and will work with G-7 and the international community to arrange a response, including sanctions,” he said.
Kishida plans to attend Thursday’s virtual meeting of leaders of the Group of Seven nations to discuss the Ukraine crisis, and he has called for a diplomatic solution. Japan has repeatedly asked the roughly 120 Japanese nationals in Ukraine to evacuate the country.
Global markets swoon after Putin move against Ukraine
Global stock markets fell sharply after Russia said it would formally recognize two breakaway regions of Ukraine and ordered its troops into them for so-called peacekeeping purposes, while the prices of oil and safe-haven assets such as gold rose.
In Asia, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific equities, excluding Japan, was down 2 percent as of midday local time Tuesday, on the back of falls in Hong Kong and mainland China. Japan’s Nikkei Index was down by a similar amount.
U.S. markets were shut Monday for a holiday, but S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures fell Tuesday morning in Asia, while the Russian ruble briefly touched an 18-month low against the U.S. dollar. In contrast, Brent crude oil futures touched a seven-year high, while gold was trading near its highest level in months.
Markets often shrug off major geopolitical conflicts, but investors have been keeping a wary eye on the standoff given Russia’s role as one of the world’s biggest energy producers.
Vice President Harris warned Sunday that Americans could see their energy costs rise if Russia invades Ukraine. Russia is one of the largest exporters of oil to the United States, according to government data.
Administration officials said the United States is likely to announce additional measures — including sanctions — against Russia Tuesday after President Biden signed an executive order Monday halting investment and trade by Americans into rebel-held areas of eastern Ukraine.
Putin orders troops into newly recognized separatist regions
Russian President Vladimir Putin, after recognizing two Russian-backed separatist regions in Ukraine as independent, ordered Russian forces into the territories for “peacekeeping” purposes, dramatically escalating a crisis that has put Europe on the brink of a full-fledged war.
In two Russian presidential orders published by the state news agency RIA Novosti, Putin ordered the Russian Defense Ministry to ensure the deployment of the Russian military into the Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic for the purposes of “supporting peace.” Troops have been amassing near the Ukrainian border for weeks.
Putin approved the agreements for 10 years, according to the full document published by RIA Novosti, allowing Russia to build military bases in Donetsk and Luhansk and jointly patrol their borders with Ukraine.
Despite fueling a war in the regions since 2014, the Kremlin has long denied that regular Russian forces are aiding the separatist fighters, though their presence has been documented by the Ukrainian and U.S. governments for many years.
The decision to openly deploy Russian forces into the territories — which have seen a significant rise in violence in recent days — further raises the risk of a full-scale war in Ukraine. If Russian troops die and the Kremlin blames Ukrainian forces, such an incident could be used as a pretext for a broader invasion of Ukraine by the Russian military.
World leaders accuse Putin of breaching international law
World leaders have roundly condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin for breaching international law and violating Ukraine’s sovereignty following his announcement Monday to recognize the independence of Luhansk and Donetsk, two Russian-backed separatist areas in Ukraine’s Donbas region.
The breakaway regions are at the heart of the crisis between Ukraine and Russia; Western leaders have feared Russia would recognize them as independent of Ukraine to create a pretext for invasion.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement the Biden administration will respond swiftly, having anticipated this move from Russia.
“President Biden will soon issue an Executive Order that will prohibit new investment, trade, and financing by U.S. persons to, from, or in the so-called DNR and LNR regions of Ukraine,” Psaki said. She noted the measures are separate from and would be in addition to the “swift and severe economic measures” the United States has already coordinated with its allies.
Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission — the executive branch of the European Union — called Putin’s recognition of the breakaway territories a “blatant violation of international law” and other agreements, and said swift sanctions against Russia will follow.
The recognition of the two separatist territories in #Ukraine is a blatant violation of international law, the territorial integrity of Ukraine and the #Minsk agreements.
The EU and its partners will react with unity, firmness and with determination in solidarity with Ukraine.
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) February 21, 2022
Prime Minister Boris Johnson signaled Britain’s willingness to hold off on imposing sanctions for now, but said Putin’s move was a repudiation of the Minsk agreements.
“I think it’s a very ill omen and a very dark sign,” Johnson said Monday.
Latvia’s foreign ministry in a tweet blasted Putin’s move as a “continuation of the attack on [Ukrainian] independence, sovereignty & territorial integrity” and said it would deliver Javelin antitank missiles to Ukraine on Tuesday.
The sentiments were echoed by German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, who called sanctions against Russia “the only language Putin understands.”
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg pointed the finger at Moscow for escalating the conflict and urged Russia to “choose diplomacy.”
Earlier Monday, the United Nations announced Secretary General António Guterres was canceling his mission to the Democratic Republic of Congo and returning to New York in light of the “deteriorating” situation in Ukraine.
Putin’s announcement came shortly after Russia’s Security Council on Monday called for him to recognize the breakaway territories, which since 2014 have self-declared as the Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic.
Neither territory has been recognized by the United States or other world powers; the Ukrainian government considers the republics to be terrorist organizations.