Europe prepares for conflict after Putin orders troops into separatist regions of eastern Ukraine

On the same day, he signed decrees expressing Moscow’s official recognition of two separate regions in the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine – the self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and the Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR).

The decrees recognized the Moscow-backed regions as independent states and guaranteed their security with Russian troops – described by the Kremlin as a “peace-keeping” force – ordered into the area.

But on Tuesday, Moscow declined to confirm whether Russian troops had yet entered the DPR or the LPR.

Moscow also said that it is still open to talks with the United States.

“No, I can’t confirm this information. I don’t know anything about it,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said when asked by CNN about the entry of Russian forces into the Donbass overnight following Putin’s orders .

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova was asked whether Putin’s decision on Monday affected the upcoming meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, “Even in the most difficult times, we said that we talked Ready to process.” According to the Russian state news agency TASS.

Putin’s actions, seen by US officials as an “attempt to make excuses for further aggression”, have nevertheless crossed the red lines set by Western leaders.

The EU sanctions package will be decided on Tuesday afternoon, EU High Representative Josep Borrell told reporters, adding that he would not frame Russian troops in the Donbass region as “a full offensive, but Russian forces are on Ukrainian soil.” “

Britain on Tuesday announced sanctions against five Russian banks and three Russian oligarchs.

Other countries, including Australia and Japan, have vowed to work closely with the international community on the sanctions.

The Baltic states – long feared by Russian siege – watched Monday’s events with alarm.

“Putin Just Put” [Franz] kafka and [George] Orwell to Shame: The dictator’s imagination has no limits, no lows, no lies too open, no red lines to cross,” Lithuania’s prime minister, Ingrida Imonita, wrote on Twitter.

“What we saw tonight may seem surreal to the democratic world. But the way we respond will define us for generations to come,” she said.

international condemnation

Amidst the clamor of countries condemning Russia’s planned incursion, some voices have been notable for the tone of their response.

During an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Monday evening, India called for “restraint on all sides” while refraining from criticizing Russia.

“However, Kenya rejects such yearning to be pursued by force. We must complete our recovery from the embers of dead empires in a way that does not lead us back to new forms of domination and oppression,” he said. Said, Kenya “rejects expansion on any grounds, including racial, ethnic, religious or cultural factors.”

For nearly eight years, isolated areas of Donetsk and Luhansk have seen low-intensity conflict between Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian forces, killing more than 14,000 people.

Officials in the US, NATO and Ukraine say Moscow provides advisory aid and intelligence to separatists, and embeds its own officers in their ranks. Russia has always denied that it has its troops on the ground.

Kiev and the West maintain that the region is part of Ukrainian territory, although the Ukrainian government claims that both territories are Russian-occupied since 2014, when the conflict began in eastern Ukraine.