Europe yesterday braced for further confrontation and Ukraine urged its citizens to leave Russia after tensions escalated dramatically when Russia’s leader received the approval to use military force outside his country and the West responded with a raft of sanctions.
Hopes for a diplomatic way out of a potential war appeared all but sunk as the US and key European allies accused Moscow on Tuesday of crossing a red line in rolling over Ukraine’s border into separatist regions, with several calling it an invasion.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken canceled a meeting with his Russian counterpart; Kyiv recalled its ambassador and considered breaking all diplomatic ties with Moscow; dozens of nations further squeezed Russian oligarchs and banks out of international markets; Germany halted a lucrative pipeline deal; and the US repositioned additional troops to NATO’s eastern flank bordering Russia.
Photo: AFP
The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday advised against travel to Russia and recommended anyone there leave immediately, saying Moscow’s “aggression” could lead to a significant reduction in consular services.
Ukrainian Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Oleksiy Danilov called for a nationwide state of emergency — subject to parliamentary approval.
Danilov said it would be up to regional authorities to determine which measures to apply, but they could include additional protection for public facilities, restrictions on traffic, and additional transport and document checks.
Even as the conflict took a new, dangerous turn, leaders warned it could still get worse. Russian President Vladimir Putin has yet to unleash the force of the 150,000 troops massed on three sides of Ukraine, while US President Joe Biden held back on even tougher sanctions that could cause economic turmoil for Russia, but said they would go ahead if there is further aggression.
Sanctions are key because the West has ruled out taking on Russia militarily.
Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba urged Western leaders not to wait.
“We call on partners to impose more sanctions on Russia now,” he wrote on Twitter yesterday. “Now the pressure needs to step up to stop Putin. Hit his economy and cronies. Hit more. Hit hard. Hit now.”
Responding defiantly to the steps already taken, Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov wrote on Facebook that “sanctions cannot solve a thing.”
“It is hard to imagine that there is a person in Washington who expects Russia to revise its foreign policy under a threat of restrictions,” he wrote.
In Ukraine’s east, where an eight-year conflict between Russia-backed rebels and Ukrainian forces has killed nearly 14,000 people, violence spiked again. One Ukrainian soldier was killed and six more sustained injuries after shelling by the rebels, the Ukrainian military said.
Separatist officials reported several explosions on their territory overnight and three civilian deaths.
While ratcheting up tensions, Putin suggested there was a way out of the crisis, laying three conditions: He called on Kyiv to recognize Russia’s sovereignty over Crimea, renounce its bid to join NATO and partially demilitarize.
However, it was unclear if there was actually any room for diplomacy since the first two demands had been previously rejected by Ukraine and the West as non-starters.
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