The situation in eastern Ukraine escalated sharply after Russian President Vladimir Putin late on Monday evening, February 21, announced the recognition of the independence of the “DNR” and “LNR”. This decision drew sharp criticism from Western leaders. In decrees recognizing the “DNR” and “LNR”, the head of the Russian state instructed the RF Ministry of Defense to ensure “peacekeeping” in the self-proclaimed republics. He assigned this task to the Russian army. Neither the date nor the number of servicemen are indicated in the documents. After the decision to send Russian troops to the territory of Ukraine, of which the Donetsk and Lugansk regions are part, the West fears the escalation of the military conflict. DW is following the events of Tuesday, February 22 (Moscow time).
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UN is moving some of its employees and their families out of Ukraine amid growing fears of a full-scale Russian invasion. At the same time, the organization intends to continue to work actively in Ukraine, especially in the east of the country, said UN spokeswoman Alessandra Velucci.
Germany freezes the commissioning of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline
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Germany is stopping the certification of Nord Stream 2, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said. Without certification, the gas pipeline will not be able to work, he stressed. The German Ministry of Economic Development should give a new assessment of the reliability of supplies, taking into account the changes of recent days, Scholz said. “Now the situation is fundamentally different,” he stressed.
“At this stage, it is now important, in parallel with the first sanctions, to avoid further escalation and thereby prevent further catastrophe. We will direct all our diplomatic efforts to this,” the German Chancellor assured.
Scholz considers the Kremlin’s recognition of the “DNR” and “LNR” a serious violation of international law. In his opinion, Russian President Vladimir Putin violated not only the Minsk agreements, but also the basic principles of the UN and all international treaties that Russia has concluded in recent decades. Perhaps Putin wants to “occupy all of Ukraine,” Scholz said.
Peskov: “DNR” and “LNR” will be recognized within their borders
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“DNR” and “LNR” will be recognized “within the boundaries that they proclaimed themselves,” said at a briefing with journalists Press Secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov. He did not answer additional questions, including whether these borders include Mariupol.
Russia recognizes the “DNR” and “LNR” within the boundaries in which they “exercise their powers of authority.” RBC told about this Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Andrey Rudenko.
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State Duma unanimously supported the ratification of the Treaty of Friendship and Mutual Assistance between Russia, “DNR” and “LNR”. The parliamentarians gave a standing ovation at the end of the meeting.
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Sanctions against the Kremlin should include a complete shutdown of Nord Stream 2, said President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky at a joint briefing with Estonian President Alar Karis in Kiev. Zelensky calls for immediate measures against Russia, Ukrainian News Agency reports.
He also said that the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry invited him to break off diplomatic relations with Russia. Zelensky said he would consider this issue after meeting with the head of Estonia.
Turkish President Erdogan called Russia’s recognition of the independence of the separatist regions of Ukraine unacceptable
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called the Kremlin’s decision to recognize the independence of the “DNR” and “LNR” unacceptable, Anadolu agency reports. “We call on the parties to be guided by common sense and respect international law,” the Turkish president said.
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The Kremlin took another step towards the revival of the USSR, said Minister of Defense of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov. “Yesterday, the enemy showed his true face. The face of a criminal who wants to hold the free world hostage. Who is aware of his crime and is trying to bind everyone around him with mutual responsibility. Because he is afraid. After all, punishment will certainly come for a crime,” Reznikov said in a statement. Facebook.
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“There is no time for talking. This creeping occupation, bloodshed, provocations, lies, imperial ambitions must be stopped. Because the appetites of the aggressor will grow. And not only in relation to Ukraine,” he said in his address Mayor of Kiev Vitaliy Klitschko. He calls for the immediate introduction of the entire package of sanctions against Russia.
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The Czech Republic is preparing for a number of scenarios, including a possible suspension of energy supplies from Russia and an influx of refugees from Ukraine. This was stated Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala, reports Reuters. According to the politician, the West should unite and be ready for tough sanctions.
The European Union may agree on sanctions against Moscow today
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European Union foreign ministers may decide on sanctions against Russia in the afternoon after meeting in Paris. The EU ambassadors discussed in the morning a larger package of measures than previously thought.
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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said at an emergency meeting on national security that Russian President Vladimir Putin is likely “set on a full-scale invasion” of Ukraine, reports the BBC. Johnson says that the sanctions will be imposed immediately.
British Health Minister Sajid Javid earlier compared the situation in eastern Ukraine to the 1962 Cuban crisis. “The invasion of Ukraine has begun,” the politician said in an interview with the BBC.
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The “parliaments” of the so-called “DPR” and “LPR” unanimously ratified the agreement on friendship and mutual assistance with Russia. The State Duma and the Federation Council have not yet discussed the recognition of the self-proclaimed republics.
The Bundestag called for sanctions against Putin’s oligarchs
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“Already the first sanctions should be painful for Putin’s system,” he said. Chairman of the Foreign Policy Committee of the Bundestag Michael Roth (Michael Roth) to Reuters. “We have to target the oligarchic system, the people who have become rich thanks to Putin,” the politician says. According to him, often these people live in Paris, London, Berlin or Rome, send their children to schools in the West, invest money here and spend their holidays. “We must destroy this system that Putin is based on,” says Roth, and calls for urgent and broad measures.
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Index Moscow Exchange fell at the beginning of trading by 8.2% to 2788.4 points, the index RTS – by 9.4%, up to 1093.9 points. Earlier, against the backdrop of a statement on the recognition of Russia “DNR” and “LNR”, the ruble became the most volatile currency in the world. Geopolitics remains the main factor that negatively affects its course, RBC reports, citing the opinions of analysts surveyed. The euro has risen above the mark of 90 rubles, the dollar is trading above 80 rubles.
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Russia recognizes the so-called “DNR” and “LNR” within the Donetsk and Lugansk regions, said Head of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs Leonid Kalashnikov. “This agreement does not specify, but I think that it refers to the statehood, which was approved in the old and only referendum, which was held in other borders than those currently occupied by the “DPR”,” RIA Novosti quoted him as saying. .
Later, Kalashnikov called this statement “a duck” and said that the document “does not specify the boundaries.” “The agreement talks about specific things in the field of friendship, cooperation, security and mutual assistance. Everything else is not a question for Russia at all, but, of course, for the DPR and LPR,” the Rise project quotes the politician.
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The issue of recognizing the “DPR” and “LPR” is not before Kazakhstan, said Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tleuberdi. official position Kazakh authorities will be formulated following the results of the Security Council, the meeting is scheduled for February 22. “We proceed from the foundations of international law and the basic principles of the UN Charter,” Tleuberdi stressed.
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The United States will quickly respond to Russia’s recognition of the independence of the self-proclaimed “DNR” and “LNR”, said the US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken in a telephone conversation with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba. This was reported on the website of the US State Department. The politicians discussed the “drastic measures” that Washington had already announced and agreed that additional steps would be taken soon. Blinken said that he “looks forward to a personal meeting with the Ukrainian minister,” Kuleba will fly to the US on February 22.
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Authorities australia call on all fellow citizens to immediately leave Ukraine. The Australian embassy in Lviv is temporarily closed, Australian officials are sent to Romania and eastern Poland to help compatriots who want to leave Ukraine, Australian Foreign Minister Maris Payne said. Official Canberra is working closely with the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom and other countries on the issue of sanctions against Russia, she added.
UN Security Council emergency meeting: London is preparing new sanctions
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UK will introduce new sanctions against Russia in response to “an attack on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine,” British Permanent Representative to the UN Barbara Woodward said during an emergency meeting of the organization’s Security Council. She did not name specific measures and terms of their introduction. Moscow’s move “ridicules the commitments Russia made under the Budapest Memorandum and the Minsk Agreements,” Woodward added.
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US Permanent Representative to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield emergency meeting of the Security Council strongly condemned the Kremlin’s order to send Russian troops to territories controlled by pro-Russian separatists. Vladimir Putin’s actions are “the basis for Russia’s attempt to create a pretext for further invasion of Ukraine,” she said. The President of the Russian Federation “tore the Minsk agreements to shreds,” Thomas-Greenfield added.
Neither the United States nor its allies intend to supply nuclear weapons to Ukraine, said the US Ambassador to the UN.
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Employees US embassies in Ukraine evacuated from Lvov to Poland for the night. This decision was made “for security reasons” after Putin’s recognition of the “DPR” and “LPR”, US Secretary of State Blinken said. A week earlier, the US Embassy in Ukraine was transferred from Kiev to Lvov.