Russia said Tuesday that its recognition of separatist areas in eastern Ukraine includes territory now held by Ukrainian forces, raising Western fears that Moscow intends to invade more of Ukraine’s territory after sending troops into the rebel-held region.
In Berlin, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Tuesday that he would halt authorization of Nord Stream 2, the controversial natural gas pipeline between Germany and Russia, for the time being.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia has recognized the independence of rebel-held regions within borders that the separatists originally proclaimed when they broke away from Ukraine in 2014.
Because large parts of those regions have since been reclaimed by Ukrainian forces during their eight-year war, Russia’s declaration could lead to attempts to expand the breakaway region by force.
Moscow’s recognition of the enclaves Monday spurred the United States and its allies to gear up for a fresh set of sanctions on Russia after it also sent in forces it described as peacekeeping troops.
European leaders said Tuesday morning that Kremlin forces had arrived in the self-proclaimed republics. European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said that “Russian troops are on Ukrainian soil” but that it was not a “fully fledged invasion.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that “we will give up nothing to no one” and that Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders “will stay that way, despite any statements or actions taken by the Russian Federation.”
Russia’s maneuvers were sharply rebuked by several nations at a hastily convened meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Monday night.
EU, US set to follow as UK slaps sanctions on Russia
The United Kingdom has slapped sanctions on a number of Russian banks and high net worth individuals as Kyiv’s Western allies punish Moscow for recognising two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine as independent.
The move came after Germany announced it was taking steps to halt the process of certifying the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline earlier on Tuesday, a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced he would deploy troops to the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR) as part of Moscow’s significant shift in policy.
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The United States and the European Union are also expected to respond in the coming hours with measures of their own.
Moscow has brushed aside the threats of retaliation, with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov saying Russia was accustomed to sanctions.
‘To save Russia means to fight for peace’: Navalny
Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny has slammed Putin for his role in the crisis, warning there could be widespread bloodshed as a result of his actions.
“Thanks to Putin, hundreds of Ukrainians and Russian citizens may die now, and in the future, this number may reach tens of thousands,” Navalny tweeted in a series of posts focused on the situation.
“Putin and his senile thieves from the Security Council and United Russia are the enemies of Russia and its main threat, not Ukraine and not the West. Putin kills and wants to kill more,” he added, citing the country’s top security body and its largest political party.
“To fight for Russia, to save it, means to fight for the removal of Putin and his kleptocrats from power. But now it also means the banal ‘to fight for peace’.”
US welcomes Germany’s Nord Stream 2 move
Washington has welcomed Berlin’s Nord Stream 2 announcement and pledged to follow up with its own measures later.
US President Joe Biden “made clear that if Russia invaded Ukraine, we would act with Germany to ensure Nord Stream 2 does not move forward”, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki tweeted.
“We have been in close consultations with Germany overnight and welcome their announcement. We will be following up with our own measures today,” she added.
Hungary to position troops near its border with Ukraine
Hungary will deploy troops near its border with Ukraine, partly in preparation for humanitarian tasks, the country’s defence ministry has announced.
“Hungary’s security is the most important, we are reinforcing the Ukraine-Hungary border,” the ministry said in a statement posted on the government’s official Facebook page. It was not immediately clear how many soldiers would be moved to the frontier.
The ministry added that it was also critical for Hungary to be ready to deliver a humanitarian response in the event of a further escalation in the crisis.
EU to activate cyber-response unit to help Ukraine
The EU is activating a cyber-response unit to help Ukraine deal with growing threats from Moscow, Lithuania’s deputy defence minister says.
Margiris Abukevicius said in a post on Twitter that Kyiv had requested the Cyber Rapid Response Team, which Lithuania coordinates, be mobilised.
