Putin told his security council it was necessary to consider the requests from the pro-Russia rebels
‘Ukraine was created by Russia’: says Putin while addressing the nation
President Vladimir Putin has ordered Russia’s defence ministry to despatch peacekeepers to two separatist regions in eastern Ukraine as part of a decree signed on Monday in recognition of the breakaway states as independent entities.
He said he was confident that Russia’s citizens supported the decision after considering requests from the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR).
In the wake of Moscow’s most recent advance, Boris Johnson will chair a Cobra meeting tomorrow morning to discuss the latest developments in Ukraine, a No 10 spokesperson said.
It is understood officials will gather at around 6.30am.
Mr Johnson will discuss the latest developments, as well as “coordinate the UK response including agreeing a significant package of sanctions to be introduced immediately,” the spokesperson said.
The PM earlier said Putin’s decision to recognise the independence of Donetsk and Luhansk was a breach of international law.
Mr Johnson said Mr Putin’s latest move in was an “ill omen” and a “dark sign” that things are moving in the wrong direction.
“This is plainly in breach of international law, it’s a flagrant violation of the sovereignty and integrity of Ukraine,” he said.
France’s Macron believes Putin broke his commitments on Ukraine
French President Emmanuel Macron considers that Russian President Vladimir Putin has broken his commitments, and that his decision to escalate the situation in Ukraine needs to be sanctioned, the Elysee palace said on Monday.
It added that Macron wants the European Union to take proportionate and targeted sanctions against Russia for violating international treaties.
President Putin delivered a historical-political speech that was accusatory and mixed various considerations of a rigid and paranoid nature,” a French presidential official told reporters, referring to Putin’s comments on Ukraine earlier Monday.
Macron went as far as possible on the diplomatic path, they added, but still wants Friday’s planned meeting of Russian and French foreign ministers in Paris to go ahead.
Reuters
Emily Atkinson22 February 2022 05:00
Ukraine says won’t succumb to provocations at the UNSC
Ukrainian ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya told the United Nations today that the country under Russian threat wants peace and will not succumb to provocations.
“We want peace and we are consistent in our actions…We are committed to a political and diplomatic settlement, we do not succumb to provocations,” Mr Kyslytsya said at the emergency meeting, delivering Ukraine’s first remarks at the UN amid the brewing crisis.
“Today, the entire membership of the United Nations is under attack. Under attack by the country that occupied the membership of the Security Council in 1991 bypassing the UN charter,” the envoy said, adding that Russia occupied parts of Ukraine in 2014.
“We demand Russia to return to the table for negotiations. We condemn the order to deploy additional Russian occupation troops in the territories of Ukraine,” Mr Kyslytsya said.
He added: “We demand the immediate and complete verifiable withdrawal of occupation troops.”
Arpan Rai22 February 2022 04:58
UK ambassador to the UN urges Russia to ‘step back’
The UK ambassador speaking at the UN emergency meet has urged Russia to “step back” from invading Russia ahead of Boris Johnson’s Cobra meeting to discuss latest developments.
Dame Barbara Woodward said that Russia has “brought us to the brink”, warning that the country’s actions “will have severe and far-reaching consequences”.
The Cobra meeting, slated to take place at 6.30am, will be used to “coordinate the UK response”, including agreeing a “significant package of sanctions to be introduced immediately”, according to a Downing Street spokesperson.
Amy Gibbons has the full story here
Arpan Rai22 February 2022 04:57
Ukraine crisis: China urges all parties to exercise restraint
China’s ambassador to the UN has urged all parties involved in the Ukraine crisis to exercise restraint and avoid any action that can fuel tensions.
Chinese envoy Zhang Jun said Beijing welcomed and encouraged every effort for a diplomatic solution to the crisis, as he delivered brief remarks to the emergency meeting.
Arpan Rai22 February 2022 04:13
Watch: ‘Plainly in breach of international law’, says PM after Putin recognises independence of DPR and LPR
‘Plainly in breach of international law’, says PM after Putin recognises independence of DPR and LPR
Emily Atkinson22 February 2022 04:00
Russia says won’t allow ‘bloodbath’ in Ukraine’s Donbass
Speaking at the United Nations Security Council, Russia vowed that it will not let a “new bloodbath” occur in the region as it said that eastern Ukraine has been on the brink of a new “Ukrainian military adventure”.
Russian ambassador Vassily Nebenzia warned western nations to “think twice” and not worsen the situation in Ukraine.
“We remain open to diplomacy for diplomatic solution. However, allowing bloodbath in Donbass is something we don’t intend to do. We are forced to note the negative role played by our western colleagues led by the US,” the Russian envoy told the UNSC.
Arpan Rai22 February 2022 03:46
Russian peacekeepers in Ukraine are ‘nonsense’, US tells UNSC
The US says Russia’s deployment of what it has called a peacekeeping operation in eastern Ukraine is “nonsense” and that Moscow’s move to recognise the rebel-held breakaway regions as independent is part of its pretext for war.
The comments were made at an emergency meeting of the 15-member UN Security Council over Russian actions late on Monday.
US envoy Linda Tomas-Greenfield warned at the UN that the consequences of Russia’s actions “will be dire – across Ukraine, across Europe, and across the globe.”
She added: “President Putin has torn the Minsk Agreement to shreds. We have been clear that we do not believe he will stop at that,” said Thomas-Greenfield, in reference to the agreements signed in 2014 and 2015, designed to end conflict and tensions between Ukraine’s government forces and Russian-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine.
Arpan Rai22 February 2022 03:25
Alarmed UNSC members voice concerns over Russia’s moves
The UNSC members present at the emergency meeting have expressed deep concerns at Russia’s attempt to declare separatist regions as independent territories, sparking fears of a spiralling conflict.
Member states like Albania, France, India and Brazil have addressed the meeting so far, expressing severe concern at how the latest developments in Ukraine have panned out, asking for both sides to display restraint.
The members states have pushed for deescalation and diplomatic dialogue.
“Who will be next?” Albanian representative Ferit Hoxha asked at the UNSC. “Every UN state should be alarmed.”
Condemning the Russian territorial claim, Mr Hoxha said that Moscow had made similar moves in Georgia in 2008 and in Crimea.
Arpan Rai22 February 2022 03:13
Attack on Ukraine is unprovoked, US envoy tells UNSC
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US ambassador to the United Nations, said that Moscow’s clear “attack” on Ukraine’s territorial “integrity and sovereignty is unprovoked”.
“It is an attack on Ukraine’s status as a UN member state. It violates basic principles of international law,” the US representative at the UNSC meet said.
The move by Russian president Vladimir Putin, she said, is “the basis of Russia’s attempt to create a pretext for the further invasion of Ukraine”.
Ms Thomas-Greenfield said that tomorrow the US will take further measures to hold Russia accountable for this clear violation of international law.
“We and our partners are clear that there will be a swift and severe response, were Russia to further invade Ukraine. In this moment no one can stand on the sidelines,” she said.
Arpan Rai22 February 2022 03:08
Biden tweet from exactly two years ago calls out going ‘toe-to-toe’ with Putin
While campaigning for the Democratic nomination for president in February 2020, then-candidate Joe Biden said he was the only candidate among the contenders “who’s ever gone toe-to-toe” with Russian president Vladimir Putin.
“Vladimir Putin doesn’t want me to be president. He doesn’t want me to be our nominee,” Mr Biden said on Twitter on 21 February, 2020. “If you’re wondering why – it’s because I’m the only person in this field who’s ever gone toe-to-toe with him.”
Exactly two years later, the 46th president of the US directed economic sanctions on two separatist regions of Ukraine that Putin has recognised as independent, with Russia’s defense ministry deploying “peacekeeping” troops to the territories following his emotional speech laying claim to the neighbouring country as “created by Russia”.
Alex Woodward reports:
Emily Atkinson22 February 2022 03:00
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