This February 22, 2022 satellite imagery provided by Maxar Technologies shows a close up of assembled vehicles at Bokov Airfield near Mazyr, Belarus. (Satellite image ©2022 Maxar Technologies via AP)Russia Ukraine Crisis Live: Satellite images show a new deployment of more than 100 military vehicles and dozens of troop tents in southern Belarus near the Ukraine border. The images released by Maxar Technologies also showed a new field hospital has been added to a military garrison in western Russia close to the border with Ukraine.
In other news, the Ukrainian military said Wednesday one soldier had been killed and six wounded in shelling by pro-Russian separatists in east Ukraine in the past 24 hours as ceasefire violations remain at a high level. This comes hours after Russian lawmakers authorised President Vladimir Putin to use military force outside his country and US President Joe Biden and European leaders responded by slapping sanctions on Russian oligarchs and banks.
Reacting to the unfolding crisis, China said it does not think sanctions are the best way to solve problems. Meanwhile, Russia welcomed India’s “independent position” on the Ukraine crisis and said its views on the issue at the UN Security Council was reflective of the special and privileged strategic partnership between the two countries.
A Ukrainian service member touches a dog on the front line near the city of Novoluhanske in the Donetsk region, Ukraine. (Reuters)
Russia Wednesday welcomed India's "independent position" on the Ukraine crisis and said its views on the issue at the UN Security Council was reflective of the special and privileged strategic partnership between the two countries.
Russian Deputy Chief of Mission Roman Babushkin said India has been playing a vital role as a responsible global power and it takes an "independent and balanced" approach to global affairs.
We welcome the independent position of India which it took twice at the UN Security Council," he said at an online media briefing. "The Indian activities at the UN Security Council are fully reflecting the merit of our special and privileged strategic partnership," he added. (PTI)
While the US and Europe second-guess Vladimir Putin's next move on Ukraine, the Russian President gave a glimpse into the country's decision-making process during a security meeting on recognising two breakaway regions in Ukraine.
During the televised meeting Monday, Putin pressed Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service Sergei Naryshkin to "speak plainly". The tense exchange saw the spy chief being interrupted repeatedly as he struggled to find the right words.
China's foreign ministry said Wednesday that it opposes any sanctions on Russia. We never think that sanctions is the best way to solve problems, the ministry said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that Moscow is ready to look for 'diplomatic solutions', reports news agency AFP.
The Ukrainian military said Wednesday one soldier had been killed and six wounded in shelling by pro-Russian separatists in east Ukraine in the past 24 hours as ceasefire violations remain at a high level.
The military said on its Facebook page it had recorded 96 incidents of shelling by separatists over the past 24 hours compared with 84 a day earlier. It said separatist forces used heavy artillery, mortars and Grad rocket systems.
Ukraine has accused Russia of provoking violence, saying it used it as a pretext to formally recognise eastern Ukraine as independent and move its troops into the region, precipitating a crisis that the West fears could unleash a major war. (Reuters)
Deputy Chief of Mission of the Russian Embassy in New Delhi said that Donetsk and Luhansk, two rebel-held regions in Ukraine, applied officially to Russia for recognition of their independence.
The situation in Ukraine has its roots in post-Soviet politics, the expansion of NATO and the dynamics between Russia and Europe, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said.
In an interactive session at a think-tank in Paris, he said Tuesday that the world today is in the midst of "multiple crises" and these developments have generated new challenges to the international order.
"The situation in Ukraine is the result of a complex chain of circumstances over the last 30 years. Most countries, such as India and France, which are very active, are seeking a diplomatic solution," he said.
"The real question is: are you mobilised to find a good solution or are you content with posturing? India can talk with Russia, with other countries, within the UN security council and support initiatives like those of France," Jaishankar said when asked why India has not condemned the concentration of Russian troops on the Ukrainian borders. (PTI)
Russian President Vladimir Putin said the crisis could be resolved if:
1️⃣ Kyiv recognises Russia's sovereignty over Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula that Moscow annexed after seizing it from Ukraine in 2014,
2️⃣ renounces its bid to join NATO and partially demilitarises
The West has decried the annexation of Crimea as a violation of international law and has previously flatly rejected permanently barring Ukraine from NATO.
If Russia further invades Ukraine, the Biden administration could deprive it of a vast swath of low- and high-tech US and foreign-made goods, from commercial electronics and computers to semiconductors and aircraft parts, people familiar with the matter told Reuters.
President Joe Biden would achieve that by expanding the list of goods that require US licenses before suppliers can ship them to Russia, and his administration would then deny those licenses, the people said. The measures, whose details have not previously been reported, are part of a suite of export control penalties that the United States has prepared to damage Russia’s economy, targeting everything from lasers to telecoms equipment and maritime items.
Former US President Donald Trump termed Russian President Vladimir Putin's move declaring a portion of Ukraine as independent as "genius" and said Putin will have the "strongest peace force".
Speaking to the conservative talk show 'The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show', Trump claimed that the Russian invasion would not have happened had he been in office. His full remarks are as follows:
"I went in yesterday and there was a television screen, and I said, 'This is genius.' Putin declares a big portion of the Ukraine — of Ukraine. Putin declares it as independent. Oh, that’s wonderful. So, Putin is now saying, 'It’s independent,' a large section of Ukraine. I said, 'How smart is that?' And he’s gonna go in and be a peacekeeper. That’s strongest peace force… We could use that on our southern border. That’s the strongest peace force I’ve ever seen. There were more army tanks than I’ve ever seen. They’re gonna keep peace all right. No, but think of it. Here’s a guy who’s very savvy… I know him very well. Very, very well. By the way, this never would have happened with us. Had I been in office, not even thinkable. This would never have happened. But here’s a guy that says, you know, 'I’m gonna declare a big portion of Ukraine independent,' he used the word 'independent,' 'and we’re gonna go out and we’re gonna go in and we’re gonna help keep peace.' You gotta say that’s pretty savvy."
"I think he sees this opportunity. I knew that he always wanted Ukraine. I used to talk to him about it. I said, 'You can’t do it. You’re not gonna do it.' But I could see that he wanted it. I used to ask him. We used to talk about it at length. I think nobody probably knows him better in terms of the discussions that we have or that we’re having this morning. So, I knew him very well. I got to know him."
Taiwan's security and armed forces must increase their surveillance and alertness on military activities in the region, President Tsai Ing-wen said Wednesday during a meeting to discuss the Ukraine crisis.
Taiwan and Ukraine are fundamentally different in terms of geostrategic, geographical environment and importance of international supply chains, but government units must tackle possible "cognitive warfare" and misinformation by foreign forces, Tsai's office cited her as saying. (Reuters)
Sounds of shelling were heard near Ukraine frontline, said news agency AFP in a video report Wednesday.
🔴 Banks and financial firms: Britain announced sanctions on five banks — Bank Rossiya, Black Sea Bank, Genbank, IS Bank and Promsvyazbank. All are smaller lenders, with only Promsvyazbank on the central bank's list of systematically important lenders. Biden announced sanctions on VEB bank and Russia's military bank, referring to Promsvyazbank, which does defence deals.
🔴 Sovereign debt and capital markets: EU investors will be banned from trading in Russian state bonds. The US too has increased restrictions on dealings in Russia's sovereign debt. Americans, who had already been barred from investing in Russian sovereign debt directly, will now also be banned from purchasing it in the secondary market after March 1.
🔴 Energy corporates: The US and the EU already have sanctions in place on Russia's energy and defence sectors, with state-owned gas company Gazprom, its oil arm Gazpromneft and oil producers Lukoil, Rosneft and Surgutneftegaz facing various types of curbs on exports/imports and debt-raising. Sanctions could be widened and deepened, with one possible option being to prevent companies from settling in US dollars.
🔴 Nord Stream 2: Nord Stream 2, a recently completed pipeline from Russia to Germany, was awaiting regulatory approval by EU and German authorities before Berlin put its certification on ice. Europe's dependence on Russian energy supplies weakens the West's hand when considering sanctions in this sector.
🔴 Curbing chips: The White House has told the US chip industry to be ready for new restrictions on exports to Russia if Moscow attacks Ukraine, including potentially blocking Russia's access to global electronics supplies. Similar measures were deployed during the Cold War.
🟡 Switching off SWIFT: One of the harshest measures would be to disconnect the Russian financial system from SWIFT, which handles international financial transfers and is used by more than 11,000 financial institutions in over 200 countries. A senior US official said they are not taking SWIFT sanctions off the table.
After Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, the US quickly imposed a series of sanctions the sanctions that mainly targeted Russia’s access to financial markets. And also Moscow’s ability to export certain items, especially military equipment. The big question is whether those sanctions did indeed hurt Russia’s economy and if they played a part in tempering Russian foreign policy belligerence as a consequence?
While the threat of fresh sanctions herald a new episode in what could soon turn into a new, and more dangerous East-West confrontation since the collapse of the Soviet Union, it is clearly a divided house on whether the imposition of the previous round of economic sanctions have kept Russia under check.
What is clear is that Russia’s situation is markedly different from what it was when it went into Crimea over seven years ago.
Convoys of armoured vehicles were seen rolling across Ukraine's separatist-controlled territories late Monday. It wasn't immediately clear if they were Russian, but NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday that "we saw last night that further Russian troops moved into the Donbas into parts of Donetsk and Lugansk."
A vaguely worded decree signed by Putin late Monday cast his order for troops in the separatist territories as an effort to "maintain peace." On Tuesday, Russian lawmakers gave Putin permission to use military force outside the country — a move that could presage a broader attack on Ukraine after the US said an invasion was already underway.
Russian officials haven't yet acknowledged any troop deployments, but Vladislav Brig, a member of the separatist local council in Donetsk, told reporters that Russian troops already had moved in, taking up positions in the region's north and west.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told UK lawmakers that Russian tanks were already in eastern Ukraine. (AP)
Indian-American economic advisor Daleep Singh is leading the efforts of the Biden administration to impose punitive sanctions on Russia over its actions against Ukraine.
Singh, who is Deputy National Security Advisor for international economics and Deputy Director of the National Economic Council, made his second appearance in the White House Press Room in a matter of days.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said that he is "back by popular demand" given the key role Singh is playing in this Russia policy of the administration.
Australia will impose sanctions against Russia, said PM Scott Morrison.
The sanctions will be in the form of travel bans, sanctions on some Russian individuals and targeted financial sanctions. (Reuters)
➡️ Russian President Vladimir Putin asked the defense ministry to deploy what he called peacekeeping forces into two breakaway regions of Ukraine after recognising them as independent
➡️ The US and the West reacted by imposing a first tranche of sanctions against Russia for launching an invasion of Ukraine. This includes sanctions against two large Russian financial institutions and Russian sovereign debt, and sanctions against Russian elites and their family members
➡️ India said the escalation of tensions is a matter of deep concern. China, a close ally of Russia, called for restraint while maintaining diplomatic silence on Moscow's latest actions
➡️ Satellite images show new deployment of more than 100 military vehicles and dozens of troop tents in southern Belarus near the Ukraine border
➡️ Oil prices settles near 2014 high on Russia-Ukraine escalation at nearly $100 a barrel
The White House said Tuesday the development of Nord Stream 2 is "not moving forward at this point in time" after steps by Germany to halt the Baltic Sea gas pipeline project.
White House spokesperson Jen Psaki declined to say whether Germany's decision was reversible.
Germany Tuesday halted the undersea pipeline project, designed to double the flow of Russian gas direct to Germany, after Russia formally recognised two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine. Europe's most divisive energy project, worth $11 billion, was finished in September, but has not begun operations pending certification by Germany and the European Union. (Reuters)
Satellite images show a new deployment of more than 100 military vehicles and dozens of troop tents in southern Belarus near the Ukraine border, a private US company Maxar Technologies said Tuesday.