Kyiv’s Western allies are set to impose sanctions on Russia over its move to recognise two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine as independent.
The United States, European Union and the United Kingdom are expected to roll out measures 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.
Until now, it has refused to recognise the “republics” – in line with all UN members.
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov brushed off the threatened response, saying Russia was accustomed to sanctions.
Here are all the latest updates:
Timeline: Ukraine’s turbulent history
Ukraine has faced significant challenges since winning independence in 1991.
For a timeline of developments, click here.
Ukraine declared independence in 1991 amid the dissolution of the Soviet Union [File: Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters]
Ukraine’s Zelenskyy to weigh axing diplomatic relations with Russia
Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Kyiv is considering breaking off diplomatic relations with Russia and warned Moscow’s recognition of his country’s two breakaway regions was a precursor for a further military assault.
“We believe that with this decision, Russia is creating the legal basis for further military aggression against Ukraine, thus violating all possible international obligations,” the Ukrainian President said.
Zelenskyy added that he had received a request from Ukraine’s foreign ministry to “examine the question of breaking off relations between Ukraine and the Russian Federation”. He said he would now “examine and work on this issue”.
OSCE to hold extraordinary meeting
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) will hold an extraordinary meeting on the Ukraine crisis later today.
The closed-door meeting of the body’s permanent council is set to take place at 14:00 GMT. Poland, which currently holds the security organisation’s chairmanship, said it will address Russia’s “breach of international law and fundamental OSCE principles”.
Erdogan slams ‘unacceptable’ Russian move: Report
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has denounced Russia’s recognition of the two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine as “unacceptable” and called on all parties to respect international laws, according to a report by Turkish news channel NTV.
“We see this decision by Russia as unacceptable. We repeat our call for common sense and respect for international law by all sides,” Erdogan told reporters, adding Ankara had prepared “precaution packages” as a regional country.
NATO member Turkey is a maritime neighbour with Ukraine and Russia in the Black Sea and has good ties with both. Erdogan has offered to mediate in the conflict, warned Russia against invading Ukraine, and criticised the West’s handling of the crisis.
Ukraine’s defence minister warns troops of ‘hardship’ ahead
Ukraine’s defence minister has told the country’s troops to be ready for war with Russia and warned them to be ready to face “hardship” ahead.
“There will be hardship. There will be losses. We will have to endure pain, overcome fear and despair,” Oleksiy Reznikov said in a message posted on his ministry’s website.
But he also promised “certain victory” in the face of the Russian threat.
“The Kremlin has taken another step to reviving the Soviet Union,” Reznikov said, adding that Putin had shown his “real face … the face of a criminal who wants to hold the whole free world hostage”.
Prague prepared for Russian supplies cut, Ukrainian refugees
The Czech Republic is prepared for various scenarios including a potential interruption of supplies of energy commodities from Russia and an influx of refugees from Ukraine, Prime Minister Petr Fiala has told the country’s parliament.
Fiala added that the West must be united and prepared to impose harsh financial and economic sanctions on Moscow over the crisis.
Why Putin recognised separatist-held regions
As international alarm over Moscow’s move grows, analysts say the Kremlin’s intention is to cause “permanent internal chaos” in Ukraine.
Read more here.
Lavrov brushes off Western sanctions
Russia’s foreign minister says the West would have imposed sanctions on his country regardless of events and described the response to Moscow’s recognition of the DPR and LPR as predictable.
“Our European, American, British colleagues will not stop and will not calm down until they have exhausted all their possibilities for the so-called ‘punishment of Russia’. They are already threatening us with all manner of sanctions or, as they say now, ‘the mother of all sanctions’,” Lavrov said.
“Well, we’re used to it. We know that sanctions will be imposed anyway, in any case. With or without reason.”
Lavrov accused the West of seeking to ‘punish’ Russia regardless of Moscow’s actions [File: Shamil Zhumatov/Pool via Reuters]
Atmosphere of ‘anger and fear’ throughout Ukraine
Al Jazeera’s Andrew Simmons, reporting from Kyiv, says there is an “atmosphere throughout Ukraine of anger and fear”.
“If you look at social media, all over there is reaction from young people and older people questioning what the future holds for them,” he said.
“There is a real concern and a growing doubt about reliance on diplomacy … all of the talking has resulted in action, and that action has been the intervention of Russia on Ukrainian soil.”
Moscow not yet discussing military bases in eastern Ukraine: Report
A deputy Russian foreign minister has said Moscow is not yet talking about setting up military bases in eastern Ukraine, but that two draft treaties would allow it to do so and that Russia would be ready to act if needed, the RIA news agency reports.
The official, Andrey Rudenko, made the comment as Russian lawmakers were set to discuss and vote on friendship treaties with the two breakaway Ukrainian regions which Putin has recognised as independent.
UK to immediately impose economic sanctions on Russia
The UK will immediately impose economic sanctions on Russia following Moscow’s moves in eastern Ukraine, Prime Minister Boris Johnson says.
The sanctions, Johnson told reporters, would be “targeted not just at entities in Donbas and Luhansk and Donetsk, but in Russia itself – targeting Russian economic interests as hard as we can.”
Putin will find he has “gravely miscalculated” if Russia invades Ukraine, he added, before warning that Moscow appeared to be bent on a full-scale invasion.
“I think that the tragedy of the present situation is that President Putin has surrounded himself with like-minded advisors who tell him that Ukraine is not a proper country. And I think that he is going to find that he has gravely miscalculated,” Johnson said.
OSCE voices ‘deep regret’ over Moscow’s move
The special representative of the OSCE’s chairman-in-office in Ukraine says Putin’s decision to recognise Ukraine’s breakaway republics is a source of “deep regret”.
“This decision … can be seen contradicting the Minsk agreements in different ways, including the aim of certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions being part of Ukraine with a special status,” Ambassador Mikko Kinnunen said in a statement, citing agreements aimed at ending the war in eastern Ukraine.
“As [with] all [other] OSCE participating States, Russia has [a] commitment to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of others, including Ukraine,” he added. “It is of crucial importance that today’s decision will not lead to new military action and bloodshed.”
UK says Putin has ‘chosen confrontation over dialogue’
Putin’s actions towards Ukraine show he has chosen confrontation with the West over dialogue, the UK’s health minister says.
“We’ve always preferred dialogue and still continue to do so but it’s clear from President Putin’s actions that he has chosen confrontation over dialogue,” Sajid Javid told the BBC.
He also warned the current situation was as grave as the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, when a confrontation between the US and the Soviet Union brought the world to the brink of nuclear war.
“I do think it’s as serious a situation as that,” Javid said.
NATO, EU cannot allow violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, Spanish minister says
NATO and European Union member states cannot allow Russia’s violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity to go unchecked, Spain’s defence minister says.
“Russia must know the firmness of EU and NATO is absolute and total,” Margarita Robles said in an interview to radio station COPE. “We cannot allow a violation of international law nor the attack to Ukraine’s territorial integrity, which is what has happened, without a doubt.”
Spain and its partners would still give a chance to diplomacy, she added.
Amnesty calls on all parties to respect human rights law
Amnesty International’s Secretary-General says the protection of civilians in Ukraine is an “absolute priority”.
“While the potential for full-blown conflict is now a devastating reality, every effort must be made to minimise civilian suffering and prioritise humanity in this crisis. It is a legal obligation of all parties to do so,” Agnès Callamard said in a statement.
She also urged all parties to ensure the protection of civilian lives and refrain from indiscriminate attacks or the use of prohibited weapons.
“We also call on all parties to allow and facilitate access of humanitarian agencies to provide assistance to civilians affected by hostilities,” Callamard said.
Damascus to recognise breakaway republics: Report
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will recognise the independence of the breakaway Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, a Russian lawmaker in charge of ties with Damascus has told a Russian news agency.
“I spoke about the situation in Donbass with Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad,” Dmitry Sablin, who coordinates the ties between Russian and Syrian parliaments, told the RIA Novosti news agency.
“He said that Syria would be ready to recognize them the way it had recognized [breakaway Georgian regions of] South Ossetia and Abkhazia” after the 2008 Russian-Georgian war, he said.
Reporting by Al Jazeera’s Mansur Mirovalev in Kyiv.
Ukrainian border guards stand at a checkpoint from territory controlled by Russia-backed separatists to the territory controlled by Ukrainian forces in eastern Ukraine [File: Evgeniy Maloletka/AP]
Separatists say Ukrainian ‘saboteurs’ behind deadly blast
A Russian-backed separatist official in eastern Ukraine has accused Ukrainian “saboteurs” of detonating a mine on a road in a breakaway region that killed three civilians, Interfax news agency reports.
The separatist official did not provide evidence and there was no immediate comment from Ukraine, which has denied a spate of claims from Moscow and the rebel republics of other alleged incidents in recent days.
Greece says Russia move in eastern Ukraine violates international law
Russia’s formal recognition of two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine violates international law, the Minsk agreements and the country’s territorial integrity, Greece’s foreign ministry says.
“Greece supports the respect of the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of all states and condemns any decision that violates fundamental principles of international law,” the ministry said.
Greece would coordinate with its European Union and NATO partners on the response to Russia’s decision, it said.
Iran’s foreign ministry calls for dialogue to resolve crisis
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman says Tehran is closely watching developments in Ukraine and calls on all sides to refrain from any action that would increase tensions.
“Unfortunately, NATO interference and provocative moves led by the United States have made conditions in the region more complicated,” Saeed Khatibzadeh said.
Khatibzadeh also urged all parties involved to resolve the crisis through dialogue.
Russia says too early to discuss borders of breakaway Ukrainian regions
Russia’s foreign ministry has said that Moscow needed to first ratify its friendship treaties with the two breakaway Ukrainian regions before it could discuss matters like the exact borders of the territories, the RIA Novosti news agency reports.
Russia’s parliament is expected to review friendship treaties with the territories on Tuesday.
‘We are not afraid’, says Ukraine’s Zelenskyy
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has told a news conference that his country is “not afraid of anything or anyone”
“We are on our own land,” he said. “We owe nothing to anyone. And we will not give anything to anyone.”
World reaction to Putin’s move to recognise Ukraine rebel regions
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to recognise the independence of two separatist regions in eastern Ukraine has drawn condemnation.
Read more here.
A spate of world leaders have slammed Putin’s decision to formally recognise Ukraine’s breakaway republics [Sputnik/Alexey Nikolsky/Kremlin via Reuters]
Russia tells UN it won’t allow ‘bloodbath’ in Ukraine’s Donbas
Russia’s ambassador to the UN says that eastern Ukraine has been on the brink of a new “Ukrainian military adventure” that Moscow could not allow, and vowed it would not let a “new bloodbath” happen in the Donbas region.
Speaking at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council (UNSC), the Russian ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, also warned Western powers to “think twice” and not worsen the situation in Ukraine.
China at UN urges all parties in Ukraine crisis to exercise restraint
China’s Ambassador to the UN has called on all parties to exercise restraint and avoid any action that might fuel tensions.
In very brief remarks at an emergency meeting of the UNSC over Ukraine, China’s UN Ambassador Zhang Jun also said Beijing welcomed and encouraged every effort for a diplomatic solution to the crisis.
Kenya cites colonial past in condemnation of Russia moves
Kenya’s ambassador at the UN, Martin Kimani, says his country and many other African nations had been “birthed” with the end of colonialism and had not been able to set their own borders.
But instead of pursuing states based on “ethnic, racial or religious homogeneity”, which carried the risk of decades of “bloody wars”, the countries “agreed that we would settle for the borders we inherited”.
“Rather than form nations that looked ever backwards into history with a dangerous nostalgia, we chose to look forward to a greatness none of our many nations and peoples had ever known,” he said.
Kenya makes strong statement opposing the undermining of the sovereignty & territorial integrity of #Ukraine during the emergency meeting of the #SecurityCouncil at 9pm on 21st February. See full statement delivered below 👇🏿 pic.twitter.com/3S36UNW7OE
— Permanent Mission of Kenya to the UN 🇰🇪 🇺🇳 (@KenyaMissionUN) February 22, 2022
Blinken and China’s Wang Yi discuss Ukraine
The US says Secretary of State Antony Blinken has had a call with China’s foreign minister on “Russia’s aggression against Ukraine” as well as North Korea.
“The Secretary underscored the need to preserve Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement.
He gave no other details.
What will Putin do next?
Charles Kupchan, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in the US and an expert in international affairs, says he is concerned about what turn the crisis will take next.
“The big question in my mind is whether Putin is going to say: ‘Mission accomplished. I’ve protected my ethnic kin in Donbas’, or is this the first move in what will likely be a Russian invasion of the rest of the country,” Kupchan told Al Jazeera.
Noting that the Russian president’s speech on Monday suggested that Russia and Ukraine were one and the same, Kupchan said he was worried about the prospect for further escalation.
“That sounded to me like an ideological foundation for going in, toppling the government and bringing Ukraine into a Russian sphere of influence,” he said.
US: Russia ‘tore Minsk agreement to shreds’
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US ambassador to the UN, has said Russia’s move to recognise the Donetsk and Luhansk rebel areas “tore the Minsk agreement to shreds”.
She said Washington would be announcing retaliatory sanctions later today.
You can read more on the Minsk agreement here.
UN Security Council adjourns
The emergency meeting of the Security Council has been adjourned after about 90 minutes.
Ukraine’s representative Sergiy Kyslytsya was the second last diplomat to speak and condemned Putin’s “illegal and illegitimate” decision to recognise the rebel-held areas in Ukraine’s east.
He equated Russia to a virus that was affecting the world and infecting even the UN.
“The UN is sick; that’s a statement of fact,” Kyslytsya said, echoing the Albanian representative’s comments on previous Russian manoeuvres. “It’s been hit by a virus spread by the Kremlin. Will it succumb to this virus? It’s in the hands of the members. Who is next?”
Ukrainian Ambassador to the United Nations Sergiy Kyslytsya holds up a copy of Russia’s recognition of Georgia’s ‘breakaway’ region during his speech at the emergency meeting of the UNSC [Carlo Allegri/Reuters]
Russia blames Ukraine, Western countries for escalation of crisis
Russia’s UN ambassador Vassily Nebenzia has just finished addressing the council.
He said some of the previous statements had been “highly emotional” and claimed Russia had been forced to act because of alleged Ukrainian intransigence over the rebel-held areas in Ukraine’s east and its “bellicose rhetoric”.
“We remain open to diplomacy, but allowing a bloodbath in the Donbas is not what we intend to do,” Nebenzia said.
He ended his speech by blaming Western countries for contributing to the deterioration of the situation.
China delivers brief statement on Ukraine crisis
China’s UN representative Zhang Jun has made a very brief statement to the UNSC.
Zhang said Beijing was playing “close attention” to developments in Ukraine and urged “all parties” to “exercise restraint and avoid any action that might fuel tensions”.
Unlike the speakers before him, he did not condemn Moscow’s decision to recognise the two separatist-held territories. Zhang said it was a “complex” situation.
US diplomats to spend night in Poland
The US State Department has announced its diplomats will spend the night in Poland for security reasons.
They had already been moved from Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, to the western city of Lviv.
“The fact that we are taking prudent precautions for the sake of the safety of U.S. government personnel and U.S. citizens, as we do regularly worldwide, in no way undermines our support for, or our commitment to, Ukraine,” Blinken said in a statement. “Our commitment to Ukraine transcends any one location.”
The State Department again urged all US citizens to leave Ukraine.
The US and a litany of other Western nations have urged their citizens to leave Ukraine [File: Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters]
Who is at the Security Council meeting?
The UNSC has 15 members – five of them permanent – and each will address the emergency meeting on Ukraine.
China, France, Russia, the UK and the US are the five permanent members and have the power of veto.
The 10 non-permanent members are elected for two-year terms by the UN General Assembly. The current list of UNSC members is set out below, with the end of their term in brackets.
- Albania (2023)
- Brazil (2023)
- Gabon (2023)
- Ghana (2023)
- India (2022)
- Ireland (2022)
- Kenya (2022)
- Mexico (2022)
- Norway (2022)
- United Arab Emirates (2023)
UNSC member states express deep concern over Russia’s moves
Representatives from Albania, France, India and Brazil have addressed the meeting.
All have expressed deep concern about the latest developments in Ukraine, stressing the need for de-escalation and diplomatic dialogue.
Albania’s representative was particularly vehement in his condemnation, noting that Moscow had made similar moves in Georgia in 2008 and Crimea.
“Who will be next?” Ferit Hoxha asked. “Every UN state should be alarmed.”
US says “no one can stand on the sidelines”
Thomas-Greenfield has just finished addressing the council.
The US ambassador to the UN urged the world body to come together and condemn Russia’s move.
“No one can stand on the sidelines,” she said, stressing Moscow’s actions in Ukraine represent “an attack on every UN member state and the UN charter”.
She earlier told the meeting that Putin was wanting a return to the past.
“Putin wants the world to travel back in time, to a time before the United Nations, to a time when empires ruled the world,” she said. “It is not 1919, it is 2022.”
Thomas-Greenfield looks on as UNSC meets after Russia recognised two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine as independent entities [Carlo Allegri/Reuters]
UN Security Council meeting gets under way
The emergency meeting of the UNSC has now begun.
The council is chaired by Russia.
Zelenskyy calls for ‘clear and effective’ steps against Russia
Zelenskyy has accused Russia of wrecking peace talks and ruled out making any territorial concessions.
The Ukrainian president said in an address to the nation that Kyiv was expecting “clear and effective” steps from its allies in response to Moscow’s moves.
‘Key topic: sanctions’: Ukraine’s foreign minister
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba says he has had another call with Blinken over the crisis.
“Key topic: sanctions,” he wrote on Twitter, stressing that the imposition of “tough sanctions” was crucial after Russia’s “illegal” declaration.
Taking into account the dynamics of the situation, I had another call with @SecBlinken ahead of our tomorrow’s meeting in Washington, DC. Key topic: sanctions. I underscored the need to impose tough sanctions on Russia in response to its illegal actions.
— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) February 22, 2022
World capitals don’t sleep now, regardless of their time zones. The scope & timeline of sanctions are being finalized. Ukraine insists: further Russian actions rely on how the world reacts. Russia must be in no doubt that the world talks the talk and walks the walk on sanctions.
— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) February 22, 2022
Biden signs ‘executive order’ on sanctions targeting rebel regions
US President Joe Biden has signed an executive order to ban all new investment, trade and financing by US citizens to, from, or in the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics regions of Ukraine.
“The E.O. is designed to prevent Russia from profiting off of this blatant violation of international law. It is not directed at the people of Ukraine or the Ukrainian government and will allow humanitarian and other related activity to continue in these regions,” Blinken said in a statement.
The secretary of state added Washington will work with Ukraine and its allies to take action in response to Putin’s declaration of the eastern rebel regions as “independent”.
Biden has signed an executive order to ban all new investment, trade and financing by US citizens to, from, or in the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics regions of Ukraine [The White House via Reuters]
Tanks seen on outskirts of Donetsk: Reuters
The Reuters news agency is reporting a witness seeing columns of military vehicles including tanks on the streets on the outskirts of Donetsk.
The Reuters reporter saw about five tanks in a column on the edge of the city and two more in another part of town.
The report says no insignia were visible, and that no tanks had been seen on the streets in previous days.
UN Security Council to meet after Russia move
The UNSC is due to meet in just over an hour’s time over the Ukraine crisis.
Ukraine called for the meeting and was backed by the United States, as well as other countries. Russia holds the rotating presidency of the council this month.
UK to announce ‘significant’ Russia sanctions on Tuesday
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to announce a “significant package of sanctions” in a few hours’ time.
A spokesperson for Johnson’s administration told Reuters that the sanctions will be agreed to at a meeting of the UK government’s crisis response committee at 06:30 GMT and take immediate effect.
‘Brazen’: US calls for urgent UN Security Council meeting
The US’ ambassador to the UN has slammed Russia’s move to recognise Luhansk and Donetsk as a “brazen attempt to usurp Ukraine’s sovereignty” and backed Kyiv’s call for an urgent meeting of the UNSC.
“The Security Council must demand that Russia respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, a UN Member State,” Thomas-Greenfield said in a statement.
“There can be no fence-sitters in this crisis,” she warned.
We support Ukraine’s call for an urgent meeting of the @UN Security Council. We must all stand with Ukraine in the face of Russia’s brazen attempt to usurp Ukraine’s sovereign territory. There can be no fence-sitters in this crisis. https://t.co/SI81WBLkmZ
— Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield (@USAmbUN) February 21, 2022
Russia to weigh military cooperation deals with breakaway regions
Russia’s lower house of parliament will consider draft laws to provide military cooperation and border protection to the breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine later today.
An agreement signed by Putin and published on Monday shows Russia also plans to build military bases in Donetsk and Luhansk.
People wave Russian flags celebrating the recognition of their independence in the centre of Donetsk, the territory controlled by pro-Russian fighters in eastern Ukraine [Alexei Alexandrov/AP]Hello and welcome to Al Jazeera’s continuing coverage of the Ukraine crisis.
Read all the updates from Monday, February 21 here.
