(Moscow) US President Joe Biden denounced the green light Tuesday from the Russian parliament for a military operation in Ukraine as the “beginning of an invasion” of the country, unveiling the first sanctions against Moscow, like its Western partners.
Posted at 2:42 pm
Updated at 5:42 PM.
Fear of a military escalation in Ukraine, to which, according to Washington, 150,000 Russian soldiers are deployed, has reached its peak since Vladimir Putin recognized on Monday the independence of the separatist entities in Lugansk and Donetsk.
24 hours after the important decision made by his Russian counterpart, Joe Biden said that the Russian president is “developing justifications to go much further.” But, he added, “there is still plenty of time to avoid the worst.”
In Moscow, Deputy Defense Minister Nikolai Pankov read out before the Senate a request from the Russian president to deploy forces in the Donetsk and Lugansk entities, on the understanding that “a (Ukrainian) army of 60,000 men and heavy armor” would be ready for an attack.
Having obtained the approval of elected officials, Putin once again denounced the violations committed by Kiev, according to him, against the Donbass separatists.
He questioned the timetable for sending armed forces, calling for the “disarmament” of Ukraine, which would be “better” to abandon his ambition to join NATO to choose “neutrality”.
“I didn’t say our soldiers would go there now […] And it will depend, they say, on the situation on the ground. Immediately after that, Russian diplomacy announced the forthcoming evacuation of its diplomats from Ukraine.
Mr. Putin also demanded the separatists all administrative districts of Lugansk and Donetsk, the area of \u200b\u200bwhich greatly exceeds the area of \u200b\u200bthe territory under their control. He referred to hypothetical “negotiations” between Kiev and pro-Russian forces.
Russian intervention would be legally justified by the ratification on Tuesday of mutual assistance agreements, particularly at the military level. Moscow also established diplomatic relations with the two regions.
First penalties
NATO expects a “massive attack” from Russia on Ukraine, announced in this context its Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg.
Without waiting, the West imposed the first sanctions in response to the separatists’ admission that Kiev had been fighting for eight years, a conflict that left more than 14,000 people dead.
The most dramatic measure was announced by Berlin, which froze the massive Nord Stream II gas pipeline project, which was to bring more Russian gas to Germany.
At the White House, Biden announced a “first batch” of sanctions aimed at preventing Moscow from raising Western money to pay off its sovereign debt.
A US official said the entire Russian banking sector could be targeted with sanctions if Russia continues its invasion of Ukraine.
For his part, the head of US diplomacy, Anthony Blinken, announced that he would not meet with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, as planned.
“Now that the invasion has begun and Russia has clearly refused any diplomacy, it makes no sense for us to meet at this point,” Blinken said.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced “a series of economic sanctions” against Russia “until Ukraine’s territorial integrity is restored.”
In particular, Canada will ban Canadians from conducting any foreign transactions with the pro-Russian separatist territories of Lugansk and Donetsk, and will impose sanctions on Russian parliamentarians who voted in favor of the “illegal resolution to recognize these territories” and “ban Canadians from participating in Russian debt purchases.”
His chief of diplomacy, Josep Borrell, confirmed that the European Union had adopted a package of sanctions that “will hurt Russia very much.”
And British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the imposition of sanctions targeting three oligarchs close to the Kremlin and five Russian banks, which is the minimum measure for London, the financial stronghold of the great Russian fortunes.
He also said he is against international matches in Russia, such as the UEFA Champions League final scheduled for the end of May in Saint Petersburg.
These measures remain modest for the time being compared to those promised in the event of a major invasion.
For the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, the principles of the “UN Charter is not a selective list” and Russia must “apply them all” with respect to Ukraine.
He reiterated that Moscow’s recognition of the “so-called independence” of the separatist regions is a “violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whose country on Tuesday demanded “weapons” and guarantees over its EU membership, said he was considering severing diplomatic ties with Moscow.
” no fear ”
The Russian president, who has imposed the tempo from the start, maintains the ambiguity of his intentions and has several options before him: invade all of Ukraine, expand the territory under the control of separatists, or wrest a new negotiating status quo.
Because occupation can be costly in a hostile country, and Russia wants to get NATO to withdraw in Eastern Europe and put an end to its expansion policy. The requirements have so far been rejected.
For his part, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov warned, on Tuesday, of “difficult trials” and losses awaiting Ukraine.
Overnight, President Zelensky for his part asserted that Ukrainians were “not afraid of anything or anyone” and would not concede “one piece of the country”.
On the front line, shootings were continuing with the separatists.
Kiev denies any hostile act, contrary to Moscow’s allegations, accusing its opponents of spreading false information aimed at trying to justify the intervention.
