The White House said on Monday that President Joe Biden ordered new sanctions on Moscow after Russia moved to recognize separatist eastern Ukraine regions, and just hours before the Kremlin announced it was going to launch a military intervention in support of the rebels.
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered forces to maintain peace in eastern Ukraine shortly after announcing he was recognizing the region's separatist republics as independent states. But it was not immediately clear whether or when troops would enter the country.
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The Biden administration called Monday's announcement by Russian President Vladimir Putin a "blatant violation of Russia's international commitments." The sanctions will prohibit new investment, trade and financing in the two separatist regions of Ukraine recognized by Putin. The European Union's top officials have also said the bloc will impose sanctions.
The European Union's top officials said the bloc will impose sanctions against those involved in Russia's recognition of two separatist regions of eastern Ukraine amid fears of a potential Russian invasion of the country.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Council President Charles Michel said in a joint statement that the recognition is "a blatant violation of international law." The statement adds that the bloc "will react with sanctions" and "reiterates its unwavering support to Ukraine's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders."
Putin's announcement on Monday recognized the independence of separatist regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.
The carefully staged move announced in the Kremlin flies in the face of European efforts for a diplomatic solution to the escalating crisis, which has brought East-West relations to a new low and jeopardized trade. Britain's prime minister called it a "breach of international law."
It came amid a spike in skirmishes in the eastern regions that Western powers believe Russia could use as a pretext for an attack on the western-looking democracy that has defied Moscow's attempts to pull it back into its orbit.
Putin justified his recognition in a far-reaching, pre-recorded speech blaming NATO for the current crisis and calling the US-led alliance an existential threat to Russia. Sweeping through more than a century of history, he painted today's Ukraine as a modern construct that is inextricably linked to Russia. He charged that Ukraine had inherited Russia's historic lands and after the Soviet collapse was used by the West to contain Russia.
Ukrainians shrugged off the move as meaningless, but it remains a fundamental blow to their country eight years after fighting erupted in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions between Russia-backed separatists and Ukrainian forces.
After his speech, Putin signed decrees in the Kremlin recognizing those regions' independence and called on lawmakers to approve measures paving the way for military support.
Until now, Ukraine and the West have accused Russia of supporting the separatists, but Moscow has denied that, saying that Russians who fought there were volunteers.
European leaders had urged Putin not to recognize the regions' independence, and the EU foreign policy chief threatened possible sanctions if he did. Ukraine's president convened an emergency meeting of top security officials.
According to the Kremlin, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron voiced "disappointment with such a development" but also "readiness to continue contacts."
At an earlier meeting of Putin's Security Council, a stream of top Russian officials argued for recognizing the separatist regions' independence. At one point, one slipped up and said he favored including them as part of Russian territory – but Putin quickly corrected him.
With an estimated 150,000 Russian troops massed on three sides of Ukraine, the US has warned that Moscow has already decided to invade. Still, the American and Russian presidents tentatively agreed to a possible meeting in a last-ditch effort to avoid war.
If Russia moves in, the meeting will be off, but 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.
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