Russia Ukraine Crisis News: Demonstrators march from the Lincoln Memorial to the White House during a 'Stand with Ukraine' rally in Washington. (Reuters)Russia Ukraine Crisis Live: Russian President Vladimir Putin convened top officials Monday to consider recognising the independence of Russia-backed separatist regions in eastern Ukraine. Putin’s statement follows televised statements by separatist leaders, who pleaded with Putin to recognise them as independent states and sign friendship treaties envisaging military aid to protect them from what they described as the ongoing Ukrainian military offensive. Russia’s lower house made the same plea last week.
Russia’s military said on Monday that troops and border guards had prevented a “diversionary reconnaissance” group from breaching Russia’s border from Ukrainian territory and that five people had been killed, Russian news agencies reported. Ukraine rejected the report, calling it “fake news”, and said no Ukrainian forces were present in the Rostov region where the incident was alleged to have taken place. Interfax cited the Russian military as saying that Ukrainian armed vehicles had been destroyed.
Earlier, Russia’s FSB security service said a shell from Ukrainian territory had completely destroyed a border guard post in Russia’s Rostov region but had caused no casualties, the Interfax news agency reported. The incident occurred 150 metres from the border between Russia and Ukraine, Interfax cited the FSB as saying. Sporadic shelling across the line dividing Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russian separatists in the east has intensified since Thursday.
A Ukrainian service member touches a dog on the front line near the city of Novoluhanske in the Donetsk region, Ukraine. (Reuters)
US authorities have warned Russia not to invade Ukraine and urged both countries to return to a set of agreements designed to end a separatist war by Russian speakers in eastern Ukraine. What are the details of the agreements, which were signed in Minsk in 2014 and 2015. Read explainer here
Moscow has cultivated close ties with pro-Russian separatists controlling swathes of the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine but denies being a party to their nearly eight-year war with Ukrainian government forces.
President Vladimir Putin told his Security Council on Monday that Russia should consider recognising the independence of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic and the Lugansk People's Republic in Donbass as independent. read more Putin said a decision would be made on Monday but stopped short of saying what it would be.
But how did separatist-held regions of eastern Ukraine grow closer to Russia? Read explainer here
As the threat from across the border looms large, here are a few photos which capture the essence of life in a tense Ukraine. See full gallery here
Russian President Vladimir Putin convened top officials Monday to consider recognising the independence of Russia-backed separatist regions in eastern Ukraine. The meeting of the presidential Security Council comes amid Western fears that Russia could invade Ukraine any moment, using skirmishes in eastern Ukraine as a pretext for an attack.
Putin's statement follows televised statements by separatist leaders, who pleaded with Putin to recognise them as independent states and sign friendship treaties envisaging military aid to protect them from what they described as the ongoing Ukrainian military offensive. Russia's lower house made the same plea last week.
The Kremlin initially signalled its reluctance to make the move that would effectively shatter a 2015 peace deal for eastern Ukraine that marked a major diplomatic coup for Moscow, requiring Ukrainian authorities to offer a broad self-rule to the rebel regions.
The US and Russian presidents tentatively agreed to meet in a last-ditch effort to stave off a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine, even as sustained shelling continued Monday in a conflict in eastern Ukraine that Western powers fear could provide the spark for a broader war.
If Russia invades, as the US warns Moscow has already decided to do, the meeting will be off. Still the prospect of a face-to-face summit resuscitated hopes that diplomacy could prevent a devastating conflict, which would result in massive casualties and huge economic damage across Europe, which is heavily dependent on Russian energy. (AP)
Russia's military said on Monday that troops and border guards had prevented a 'diversionary reconnaissance' group from breaching Russia's border from Ukrainian territory and that five people had been killed, Russian news agencies reported.
Ukraine rejected the report, calling it fake news, and said no Ukrainian forces were present in the Rostov region where the incident was alleged to have taken place. Interfax cited the Russian military as saying that Ukrainian armed vehicles had been destroyed. The reported incident took place at a moment of extreme tension between the two countries as Russia continues to deny statements from the United States and its allies that it could invade Ukraine at any time. (Reuters)
The New York Times is reporting that Putin has called an unscheduled meeting of his Security Council. His spokesperson confirmed this to NYT while refusing to elaborate on suggestions of the potential for direct talks between Putin and US President Joe Biden.
UK PM Boris Johnson’s spokesperson says, “Intelligence we’re seeing suggests Russia intends to launch an invasion of Ukraine and in some way Putin’s plan has in effect already begun.” (Reuters)
The EU will not impose sanctions on Russia just yet, the bloc's foreign policy chief said on Monday, rebuffing a call from Kyiv to take such steps now to avert a war rather than wait until after any possible Russian invasion.
Western countries fear a buildup of Russian troops near Ukraine in recent weeks is a prelude to an invasion, which Moscow denies. The United States and European allies have said any attack would trigger "massive" sanctions against Moscow, but Kyiv wants sanctions now.
"We expect decisions," Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in Brussels before addressing a regularly scheduled meeting of EU foreign ministers. "We believe that there are good and legitimate reasons to impose at least some of the sanctions now to demonstrate that the European Union is not only talking the talk about sanctions, but is also walking the walk."
The EU ministers backed plans announced last month for a 1.2-billion-euro financial aid loan package for Ukraine, and also agreed in principle to a long-standing Ukrainian request for a small-scale mission of military instructors to help train officers. But the EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, as well as some of the assembled foreign ministers, made clear the bloc did not plan to impose sanctions on Russia yet. (Reuters)
More than a hundred people gather in Washington, D.C. to show solidarity with Ukraine and protest against the threat of a Russian invasion.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin by telephone later Monday in a further effort to ease tensions over Ukraine, the German government spokesman said. (AFP)
As Russia and the West led by the US up the rhetoric, a worried international community is watching the situation with concern. But what does the Russia-Ukraine crisis mean for the rest of the world? Watch Dr C Raja Mohan explain
When Wang Yi, China’s foreign minister, called on Saturday for talks to resolve the crisis in Europe, he said Ukraine’s sovereignty should be “respected and safeguarded” — but also sided with Russia in saying that NATO enlargement was destabilising the continent.
“If NATO keeps expanding eastward, is it conducive to maintaining peace and stability in Europe?” he said by video at the Munich Security Conference in Germany, which Vice President Kamala Harris was attending in person to rally countries against Russia.
It was the latest instance of what Western officials say is China taking a bold new swing at the United States and its allies by wading into European security issues to explicitly back Russia, which has amassed as many as 190,000 troops around Ukraine for a possible invasion — despite the fact Ukraine is not joining NATO anytime soon. Read more
Russia's FSB security service said on Monday a shell from Ukrainian territory had completely destroyed a border guard post in Russia's Rostov region but had caused no casualties, the Interfax news agency reported.
The incident occurred 150 metres from the border between Russia and Ukraine, Interfax cited the FSB as saying. Sporadic shelling across the line dividing Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russian separatists in the east has intensified since Thursday. (Reuters)
Ukraine’s defence minister Oleksiy Reznikov says there is no sign of Russian forces withdrawing from the border and that Moscow-backed rebels continue to shell Ukrainian positions, reports AFP. Interfax Ukraine reported that Reznikov said an invasion could be presented as sending in peacekeepers.
Kremlin says it is too early to organise a summit between Putin and Biden, after Paris announced the possibility of a meeting to calm tensions over Ukraine. "It's premature to talk about any specific plans for organising any kind of summits," Kremlin spokesman Peskov said, news agency AFP reported.
Increasing hostilities with Ukraine and the West is advantageous to Russia given the tattered relationship between the USA and its European allies, the domestic support for such an endeavour and Putin’s need for a popularity boost ahead of the 2024 Russian Presidential elections.
But how do the Ukrainians perceive the current state of affairs, and what they are prepared to do in order to protect their national sovereignty? Read more
Oil prices fell on Monday, reversing course from strong initial gains, as news of fresh diplomatic efforts to resolve the Ukraine crisis provided some relief from concerns about crude supply.
Brent crude futures and US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose more than $1 a barrel at the start of Asian trade as the Ukraine crisis threatened to disrupt Russian energy exports to Europe.
But prices subsequently swung to a near $1 loss after the office of French President Emmanuel Macron said in a statement on Monday that US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed in principle to a summit over Ukraine. (Reuters)
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock accused Russia of playing an "irresponsible" game with the civilian population of eastern Ukraine and urged it to return to the negotiating table.
"I urgently call on the Russian government, on the Russian president: Don't play with human lives," Baerbock told reporters after arriving for a meeting of European Union foreign ministers in Brussels.
"What we have seen over the last 72 hours in terms of attacks, violent disputes is really concerning," she said. "The responsibility lies with the Russian government which is why I call urgently on the Russian government: Come back to the negotiating table. It is in your hands." (Reuters)
The US warned it has “credible information” that Russia has lists of Ukrainians who will be “killed or sent to camps” in the event of military occupation, according to a letter sent to the UN rights chief quoted by Al Jazeera.
Sources familiar with the intelligence told CNN that the lists are part of a plan to replace the current administration in Kyiv with a Russia-friendly government. "I think for most it will depend on how cooperative these people are when the time comes and the circumstances in which they are captured or taken. "If it's in public, that'll be different from somebody who they corner in the middle of nowhere," a source familiar with the intelligence told the news channel.
Prime Minister Imran Khan will visit Russia on February 23-24, the official Russian media has reported, signalling the first visit by a Pakistani premier to Moscow in 23 years.
Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that preparations for the visit of the Prime Minister Khan were underway, the state-run TASS news agency reported.
"The visit will take place on February 23-24," it quoted a source in diplomatic circles as saying. Khan's visit has not been officially announced by Pakistan and Russia. (PTI)