Russia orders troops into eastern Ukraine as the region appears to be veering inexorably toward war
In an almost-hourlong address that alternated between furious anti-Western rhetoric and the excoriation of Ukraine as a puppet nation, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday recognized two Ukrainian breakaway republics as independent, a move certain to further incite animosities with the West and escalate fears of an invasion that could ignite fighting reminiscent of World War II and redraw the map of Eastern Europe.
For those reasons, he said, “I consider it necessary to make a long overdue decision: to immediately recognize the independence and sovereignty of the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic,” Putin said, using the official name of the two Russian-created enclaves. He asked Russia’s Federal Assembly to support the decision, and ratify the treaties “of friendship” and — critically — “mutual assistance” with both republics.
And U.S. officials, who have for weeks been predicting such actions of conquest from Putin, announced they were imposing new sanctions designed to inflict pain on anyone attempting to do business with the enclaves — although it was unclear how many American businesspeople are investing in the region. The sanctions are more limited than measures the U.S. and Europe have been threatening if Putin invaded Ukraine.
“No matter what happens in the coming days, we must assure that the dictator Putin and his corrupt oligarchs pay a devastating price for their decisions,” the group said in a statement. Russia’s forces seem poised to strike for just such a moment. Some 150,000 troops and a large-scale arsenal of Russia’s top land, air and sea materiel is now assembled on Ukraine’s borders. Moscow has repeatedly denied it has plans for an invasion but has warned that Western failure to engage with its security demands, including a pledge never to allow Ukraine to join NATO, would trigger a “military-technical response.” The Kremlin has not elaborated on what that would mean.
Since 2014, fighting between Kyiv’s forces and the Russia-backed secessionists in Donetsk and Luhansk, which make up Ukraine’s Donbas region, has killed more than 14,000 people. A cease-fire has been breached multiply by both sides.
“Every indication we see on the ground right now in, terms of the disposition of Russian forces, is that they are in fact getting prepared for a major attack on Ukraine,” Sullivan said. “We will go the extra mile on diplomacy, but we are also prepared with our allies and partners to respond decisively if Russia attacks.”
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