Ukrainian border guards stand at a checkpoint from territory controlled by Russia-backed separatists to the territory controlled by Ukrainian forces in Novotroitske, eastern Ukraine, Monday, Feb. 21, 2022. (AP)Russia Ukraine Crisis Live: China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday expressed concerns over the “worsening” situation in Ukraine. Detailing a call with US Secretary Antony Blinken, a statement by China said that it called on all parties to “exercise restraint” and that the legitimate security concerns of any country should be respected. “China will continue to stay in touch with all parties,” Wang said. Blinken had earlier said that he had underscored the need to preserve Ukraine’s sovereignty in a call with Wang.
China’s concerns came after President Vladimir Putin Monday signed a decree recognising two Russian separatist-held regions — Donetsk and Luhansk — in Ukraine as independent entities. Under the friendship treaty signed by Putin, Russia has acquired the right to build military bases in the regions. The parties commit to defend each other and sign separate agreements on military cooperation and on recognition of each other’s borders, Reuters has reported.
Responding to the development which accelerated the West’s fears of war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in a statement on Tuesday accused Russia of wrecking peace efforts and violating the sovereignty and territorial integrity of his country. “…we are on our own land, we are not afraid of anything and anybody, we owe nothing to no one, and we will give nothing to no one,” Zelenskiy said. Meanwhile, calling Putin’s actions a blatant violation of Moscow’s international commitments, US President Joe Biden signed an executive order blocking trade and investment in the regions. India has called for restraint on all sides at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, stating that the immediate priority is the de-escalation of tensions taking into account the legitimate security interests of all countries.
A Ukrainian service member touches a dog on the front line near the city of Novoluhanske in the Donetsk region, Ukraine. (Reuters)
Russian President Vladimir Putin received no support from members of the U.N. Security Council at an emergency meeting Monday night, after Russia recognized two separatist regions of Ukraine as independent states. (AP)
Germany has taken steps to halt the process of certifying the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Tuesday, as the West started taking punitive measures against Moscow over the Ukraine crisis.
Scholz told reporters in Berlin that his government was taking the measure in response to Moscow’s actions in Ukraine. (AP)
Kremlin says Kyiv cutting diplomatic ties with Moscow would make 'everything even more difficult'. It adds that Russia remains open to all 'diplomatic contacts' over Ukraine. (AFP)
EU ambassadors are unanimously in favour of imposing sanctions on Russia. They will meet later today to discuss details, reports Reuters quoting a senior EU diplomat.
The Kremlin said on Tuesday it hoped Russia's recognition of two breakaway Ukrainian regions as independent would help restore calm and that Moscow remained open to diplomacy with the United States and other countries. In a conference call with reporters, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said he was unable to say if Russian forces had already entered the two separatist regions that are often referred to simply as the Donbass. He said a decision to send in forces would depend on how the situation developed. (Reuters)
Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs lists history of ‘provocations’ by US
Russia's decision to recognise two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine means that the Kremlin has taken another step towards the revival of the Soviet Union, Ukraine's Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov said on Tuesday. "The Kremlin has taken another step towards the revival of the Soviet Union. With the new Warsaw Pact and the new Berlin Wall," he said in a statement. (Reuters)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov brushed off the threat of sanctions on Tuesday, saying the West would impose them regardless of events and describing the response to Russia's recognition of two breakaway Ukrainian regions as predictable.
"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’. They are already threatening us with all manner of sanctions or, as they say now, 'the mother of all sanctions'," Lavrov said. "Well, we're used to it. We know that sanctions will be imposed anyway, in any case. With or without reason." (Reuters)
Britain will immediately impose hard economic sanctions on Russia, UK PM Boris Johnson said on Tuesday. “We will immediately institute a package of economic sanctions. This is, I should stress, just the first barrage of UK economic sanctions against Russia, because we expect I’m afraid that there is more Russian irrational behaviour to come … [The sanctions] will hit Russia very hard, and there is a lot more that we are going to do in the event of an invasion," Johnson said, The Guardian reported.
He added that the sanctions would be “targeted not just at entities in Donbas and Luhansk and Donetsk, but in Russia itself—targeting Russian economic interests as hard as we can.”
As several countries may soon impose sanctions following Russian President Vladimir Putin's move into separatist-headed regions of Ukraine, the Central Bank in Russia said it was ready to take all necessary measures to support financial stability.
In an effort to help the financial sector adapt to increased volatility, the central bank said banks would be permitted to use the market value of stocks and bonds in their portfolios as of February 18 in earnings reports until October, Reuters reported.
"Ukraine's sovereignty and territory must be respected," South Korean President Moon Jae-in said. "A military clash against the wishes of the international community ... would bring huge ramifications in the politics and economies of not only Europe, but to the whole world," he added.
Moon instructed his officials to prepare for the economic fallout in South Korea if the Ukraine crisis worsens and US-backed nations levy stringent economic sanctions on Russia.
South Korea's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Choi Young-sam said diplomats were trying to persuade 63 of its nationals who currently remain in Ukraine to leave. (PTI)
People from the Donetsk region, the territory controlled by pro-Russia separatist governments in eastern Ukraine, were transported to temporary housing elsewhere as long-feared Russian invasion of Ukraine appears to be imminent with Russian President Vladimir Putin ordering forces into separatist regions of eastern Ukraine.
Pictures taken at the railway station in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022 (AP)
Responding to the developments in Ukraine, Health Secretary Sajid Javed told Sky News, "You can conclude that the invasion of Ukraine has begun...the Russians, President Putin, has decided to attack the sovereignty of Ukraine and its territorial integrity."
"We will be introducing sanctions as we said we always will," Javed added.
Though Britain is yet to specify the sanctions it will impose, Prime Minister Boris Johnson held an emergency meeting Tuesday to discuss the matter.
Russia has acquired the right to build military bases in Ukraine's two breakaway regions under the two identical friendship treaties signed by President Vladimir Putin with their separatist leaders.
The parties commit to defend each other and sign separate agreements on military cooperation and on recognition of each other's borders.
The 31-point treaties also say Russia and the breakaway statelets will work to integrate their economies. Both of them are former industrial areas in need of massive support to rebuild after eight years of war with Ukrainian government forces. The 10-year treaties are automatically renewable for further five-year periods unless one of the parties gives notice to withdraw. (Reuters)
Reacting to the developments Monday night, residents of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv called Russian President Putin's decision to recognise Donetsk and Luhansk as independent as "total nonsense".
Talking to Reuters, a woman said, "This shouldn't happen because it's our land, not theirs, not independent." While one called it an end to diplomatic relations and Minsk agreements, another resident said, "I am not sure if should be scared or not...I can't believe what's happening."
Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega became one of the first world leaders to back Russia's stance over Ukraine on Monday, saying President Vladimir Putin was right to recognise two regions controlled by Moscow-backed separatists as independent.
"I am sure that if they do a referendum like the one carried out in Crimea, people will vote to annex the territories to Russia," said Ortega, a long-time opponent of US influence in Central America.
Ortega also said Ukraine's attempt to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) represented a threat to Russia. “If Ukraine gets into NATO they will be saying to Russia let's go to war, and that explains why Russia is acting like this. Russia is simply defending itself." (Reuters)
China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday expressed concerns over the "worsening" situation in Ukraine, news agency Reuters reported. Detailing a call with US Secretary Antony Blinken, a statement by China said that it called on all parties to "exercise restraint" and that the legitimate security concerns of any country should be respected. "China will continue to stay in touch with all parties," Wang said.
Blinken had earlier said that he had underscored the need to preserve Ukraine's sovereignty in a call with Wang.
Brent crude prices hit $96.7 per barrel on Tuesday, the highest mark since September 2014, following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s deployment of troops to separatist areas Donetsk and Luhansk in Ukraine. The rising global tensions and threat of invasion in Ukraine have caused oil prices to surge and the stock markets to crash.
While oil prices have surged nearly 40 per cent since December 1, 2021, when it was trading at $69.5, the benchmark Sensex at the BSE fell by over 1,250 points in the early trading hours on Tuesday and hit a day’s low of 56,394. The rupee also fell 33 paisa or 0.44 per cent to hit 74.84 to USD.
The spike in oil prices has been driven primarily by fears of supply side disruptions as the threat of Russian invasion in Ukraine looms large. -- Sandeep Singh and Karunjit Singh explain
The end of the Winter Olympics games coincided with an escalation of fighting in eastern Ukraine. If the threat of Russia's use of force against Ukraine was more speculative and often debatable just several weeks ago, the risk of real conflict is now much higher. Russian President Vladimir Putin shows more confidence in resolving the crisis in his country's favour than ever before. His confidence is likely to be based on the following drawcards: the faltering Ukrainian economy, Russia's military prowess and a new trump card, China.
Economic factors: Russia is tightening its economic pressure on Ukraine by reducing the country's value as a transit state for its gas exports. Analysts say Russian gas flows through Ukraine fell to historic lows in January, meaning less revenue in transit taxes for Ukraine.
Military push: The Kremlin is confident ten years of reforms and massive injections of money have transformed the Russian army from an ageing, ill-equipped force into one of the world's most powerful militaries. Adding to that, the Russians believe neither the US nor NATO would risk an open conflict over Ukraine.
China: China and Russia have signed a long-term agreement to ship Russian oil and gas to China worth US$117 billion. This agreement allows Moscow to mitigate the possible fallout from US threats to halt the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Europe if an invasion occurs. Second, the joint statement formalised China's political support for Russian strategies against the West. Importantly, for the first time, China voiced support for Russia's opposition to NATO expansion. (PTI/The Conversation)
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Tuesday condemned Russia's action on the "sovereign soil of Ukraine". Morrison asserted, "Russia must step back. It should unconditionally move its troops behind its own borders and stop threatening its neighbours."
He hoped for diplomatic actions by the US, France and other European to contain what he called would be an "absolutely violent confrontation."