Russian President, Vladimir Putin, has ordered troops into two rebel-held regions in eastern Ukraine, after recognising them as independent states.
Russia said the troops would be “peacekeeping” in the breakaway regions, which it has backed since 2014. But the United States government thinks that calling them peacekeepers is “nonsense”, and further accused Russia of creating a pretext for war.
Footage released overnight appeared to show Russian military vehicles heading towards the Ukrainian border.
Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said his country is “not afraid of anything or anyone”. In a late-night televised address to the nation, President Zelenskyy called for “clear and effective actions of support” from Ukraine’s international allies.
“It is very important to see now who our real friend and partner is, and who will continue to scare the Russian Federation with words only.”
Ukraine President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Several countries, including the UK, are expected to introduce sanctions against Russia in response to its move to invade.
Fears over an invasion have risen in recent months, as Russia has massed some 150,000 troops along Ukraine’s borders, according to estimates by US intelligence.
At an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council, US Ambassador, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, dismissed Russia’s claims that troops would be taking on a “peacekeeping” role, saying: “We know what they really are.” She added that recognising Luhansk and Donetsk as independent is part of Russia’s bid to create a reason to invade Ukraine.
Russia has backed a bloody armed rebellion in eastern Ukraine for the past eight years. Some 14,000 people, including many civilians, have died in fighting since then.
In recent years, Russian passports have been given out to large numbers of people in Donetsk and Luhansk. The rebel-held areas have been evacuating women, children and the elderly to Russia since late last week.
In an hour-long address on Monday, February 21, 2022, Mr Putin said Ukraine is an integral part of his country’s history and described eastern Ukraine as “ancient Russian lands”.
Russia’s UN Ambassador, Vasily Nebenzya, argued the need to defend the rebel-held areas in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region from what he called Ukrainian aggression.
“Allowing a new bloodbath in the Donbas is something we do not intend to do.”
Russia’s UN Ambassador, Vasily Nebenzya
‘It’s unacceptable and unprovoked’
Western powers are rallying behind Ukraine, promising harsh sanctions against Russia if it invades, though it is not yet clear how effective this move could be.
The US condemned Mr Putin’s move, with President Joe Biden signing an executive order that prohibits new investment, trade and financing by Americans in the breakaway regions. The White House said the measures are separate from wider Western sanctions which are ready to go” should Russia further invade Ukraine”.
UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, said Russia has violated Ukrainian sovereignty and “completely torn up” international law. He said Mr Putin appears“bent on a full-scale invasion”, and promises a“barrage of sanctions”.
The European Union has pledged to “react with unity, firmness and with determination in solidarity with Ukraine”.
Australia’s Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, rejected the suggestion that Russian troops would have a peacekeeping brief, telling reporters: “It’s unacceptable, it’s unprovoked, it’s unwarranted… some suggestion that they are peacekeeping is nonsense.”
Both Germany’s Chancellor, Olaf Scholz and France’s President, Emmanuel Macron, held talks with the Russian leader ahead of his announcement of ordering troops into eastern Ukraine’s two rebel-held regions, Donetsk and Luhansk.
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