PremiumRussia Ukraine crisis LIVE: The East-West faceoff over Ukraine escalated dramatically Tuesday, with Russian lawmakers authorizing President Vladimir Putin to use military force outside his country and U.S. President Joe Biden and European leaders responding by slapping sanctions on Russian oligarchs and banks.
One of the worst security crises in Europe in decades is unfolding as Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered soldiers into Donetsk and Luhansk to "keep the peace." Washington has dismissed that as "nonsense".
Western nations on Tuesday punished Russia with new sanctions for ordering troops into separatist regions of eastern Ukraine and threatened to go further if Moscow launched an all-out invasion of its neighbour.
The United States, the European Union, Canada and Britain announced plans to target banks and elites while Germany halted a major gas pipeline project from Russia, which they say has amassed more than 150,000 troops near Ukraine's borders. Moscow has denied planning an invasion.
President Joe Biden said the U.S. would impose a first wave of sanctions on Russia and is shifting American forces already based in Europe, and a meeting between the top U.S. and Russian diplomats was canceled. Biden’s announcement followed earlier sanctions after the European Union and the U.K. set out an initial set of limited penalties targeting Moscow.
Air India special flight AI 1946 landed at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport from Ukraine's Boryspil airport with over 240 Indian citizens on Tuesday night amid the Russia-Ukraine crisis.
"Air India special flight AI-1946 landed at Delhi airport with around 242 passengers at 2330 Hrs," an Air India official told ANI.
No Russian financial institution can feel safe if the "invasion" of Ukraine proceeds, with the United States standing ready to take further action against the largest Russian banks, including Sberbank and VTB, a senior US administration official told a press briefing.
“We are united in our support of Ukraine," Biden said. “We are united in our opposition to Russian aggression." When it comes to Russian claims of a justification or pretext for an invasion, Biden said, “None of us should be fooled. None of us will be fooled. There is no justification."
Canada will deploy up to 460 additional troops to Eastern Europe amid escalating tensions following Russia's recognition of the breakaway Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said.
Satellite imagery over the past 24 hours shows several new troop and equipment deployments in western Russia and more than 100 vehicles at a small airfield in southern Belarus, which borders Ukraine, according to U.S. firm Maxar.
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