Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin sends troops to eastern Ukraine. All news in the Newsticker.
- The conflict between Russia* and the Ukraine* escalated.
- Wladimir Putin* recognizes the independence of the separatist areas in eastern Ukraine.
- Fighting in the eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk claim the first casualties.
>>> Update news ticker
+++ 8.25 p.m.: After recognizing the self-proclaimed People’s Republics in eastern Ukraine, Russia is establishing diplomatic relations with the regions. As the Foreign Ministry announced in Moscow, Russia wants to expand cooperation with the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The aim is “peace, stability in the region and strengthening security”.
+++ 7.50 p.m.: Against the background of the escalation of the Ukraine conflict, Russia has announced that it will withdraw its diplomatic staff from the neighboring country. The Russian diplomatic missions in Ukraine would be evacuated “promptly” to protect “the life and safety” of the diplomats, the Foreign Ministry in Moscow said on Tuesday.
Russian diplomats in Ukraine have received threats, and there have been “repeated attacks” on the Russian embassy in Kiev and consulates in other cities, the ministry said. “Ukraine is in deep chaos,” it said.
+++ 6.50 p.m.: NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has warned of a “large-scale attack” by Russia on Ukraine. The military alliance is observing a continued Russian troop buildup and preparations for such an attack, Stoltenberg said after a special meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Committee in Brussels. He spoke of the most dangerous situation for Europe in a generation. “Everything indicates that Russia is still planning a large-scale attack on Ukraine,” Stoltenberg said. But it is not too late for Moscow to change course.
Russian House of Lords approves troop deployment in eastern Ukraine
+++ 5.30 p.m.: In view of the tensions in eastern Ukraine, the upper house of the Russian parliament has approved a deployment of troops. The Federation Council voted unanimously for a corresponding order from President Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin boss determines the number of soldiers and the duration of the stationing “abroad,” it said. Earlier, Putin addressed the Federation Council with a request to discuss “the deployment of Russian armed forces outside the territory of the Russian Federation,” as Chairwoman Valentina Matviyenko said.
With a view to the “People’s Republics” of Donetsk and Luhansk, now recognized by Moscow, Russia’s Deputy Defense Minister Nikolai Pankov said during the meeting: “We have to protect the citizens of these young states.” He also accused Ukraine of sending around 60,000 soldiers to the contact line to have moved together in the separatist areas.
+++ 5 p.m.: The Russian government has requested troops to be stationed in the Donbass. Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin has asked the upper house of parliament for the go-ahead for the Russian army to be deployed in eastern Ukraine. Deputy Defense Minister Nikolai Pankov read out a request from Putin to send troops during a special session of the Federation Council in Moscow. The Ukrainian leadership has taken the “path of violence and bloodshed,” said Pankov.
+++ 4.45 p.m.: In view of the Ukraine conflict, NATO is in “particular crisis preparedness”. This is reported by Business Insider magazine, citing circles in the military alliance. Accordingly, numerous contingency plans have been activated, for example for the scenario that NATO itself would be attacked.
In addition, there is a NATO deployment plan that includes 49,000 armed forces. Apparently, however, neither a local defense of Ukraine nor support for the Ukrainian armed forces is planned. According to the report, the goal is to strengthen NATO’s external borders.
+++ 4 p.m.: The US government has now officially spoken of a “Russian invasion” in eastern Ukraine. “An invasion is an invasion and that’s what’s happening right now,” John Finer, deputy national security adviser, told CNN on Tuesday afternoon.
Meanwhile, Russia appears to be positioning an “overwhelming” fleet of warships to invade Ukraine.
+++ 3.30 p.m.: Russia continues to deny sending troops to eastern Ukraine. That is exactly what President Vladimir Putin announced on Monday evening.
As fighting continues in Donbass between pro-Russian rebels and the Ukrainian army, Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyi has announced his country is considering cutting all diplomatic ties with Russia. This proposal was submitted to him by his Ministry of Defense, said Zelenskyi at a press conference on the current situation. “Russia is laying the groundwork for armed aggression against Ukraine,” the president said in Kiev.
Ukraine conflict: Russia denies sending troops
+++ 2.20 p.m.: Russian President Vladimir Putin has denied allegations that his aggressive actions in eastern Ukraine are aimed at restoring a Russian empire. “We have heard speculation that Russia is preparing to build an empire again,” Putin said at a meeting with Azerbaijani leader Ilham Aliyev in Moscow on Tuesday. “That in no way corresponds to reality.”
According to the Foreign Ministry in Moscow, Russia is not planning to send soldiers to eastern Ukraine “at the moment”. “At the moment they are not preparing to send anyone anywhere,” said Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko on Tuesday; but this will happen in the event of a “threat”. President Vladimir Putin recognized the separatist areas in eastern Ukraine as independent on Monday and announced that soldiers would be sent there.
Ukraine conflict: China sides with Russia
+++ 1.38 p.m.: In the midst of the most heated phase of the Ukraine conflict China* on the side of Russia – at least indirectly. China’s envoy to the United Nations called on “all parties” to be prudent on Monday (February 21, 2022). One does not want to heat up the tensions in Ukraine any further. However, the envoy did not condemn the recognition of the independence of the two separatist regions in eastern Ukraine.
In the statement, China’s ambassador to the UN, Zhang Jun, said Beijing welcomes and encourages any efforts to reach a diplomatic solution, adding that all concerns should be dealt with on an “equality basis.”
“The current situation in Ukraine is the result of many complex factors. China always takes its stand depending on the merits of the matter at hand. We believe that all countries should resolve international disputes through peaceful means in line with the goals and principles of the UN Charter,” Zhang said.
Russia sends troops: dead in fighting in eastern Ukraine – Putin “totally insane
+++ 12.25 p.m.: After the escalation in the Ukraine conflict, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte called Russian President Vladimir Putin “insane”. “The man is of course totally insane,” said Rutte on a TV talk show on Monday evening. Rutte had previously received word that Putin plans to send troops to the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics in eastern Ukraine.
The prime minister promised clear reactions from the West before parliament on Tuesday.
+++ Update, 11.35 a.m .: Even after the recent escalation by Russia, foreign policy experts in the traffic light coalition are sticking to their rejection of arms deliveries to Ukraine. “I am in favor of the federal government not changing its position,” said SPD foreign policy expert Nils Schmid on Tuesday. His FDP colleague Alexander Graf Lambsdorff also rejects arms deliveries. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, Andriy Melnyk, reiterated the urgent need for defense assistance.
Traffic light coalition maintains its refusal to supply arms to Ukraine
The federal government has so far ruled out concessions on this point with the argument that it does not deliver weapons to crisis areas as a matter of principle. Schmid thinks that’s right. “We should continue to refrain from delivering lethal weapons to Ukraine,” he said on Bayerischer Rundfunk.
If Russia “continues to create unilateral facts”, “we have no choice but to react with sanctions,” Schmid continued. He did not want to comment on the question of whether the Russian-German gas pipeline Nord Stream 2 could also be involved.
Ukraine conflict: Russia sends troops
First report, Tuesday, February 22nd, 2022: Kiev/Donetsk – Several people were killed in further heavy fighting in eastern Ukraine between pro-Russian separatists and the Ukrainian army. At least two soldiers from the Ukrainian army were killed and 18 injured, some seriously. The army announced on Tuesday. In addition, one civilian died in Novoluhanske in the Donetsk region and at least five civilians were injured elsewhere in the conflict zone.
However, the intensity of the fighting has decreased since midnight, the report said. The Russian-Kremlin-backed separatists in the Donzek region reported one dead and three wounded among their fighters. In addition, one civilian was killed in Donetsk and one civilian was injured in Slovjanoserbsk in the Luhansk region. The reports cannot be verified.
Civil war has raged in eastern Ukraine since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. Government troops equipped by the West are fighting Moscow-backed rebels. The contested area covers the entire area between the cities of Donetsk and Luhansk. Two “People’s Republics” emerged there in the course of the civil war. On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized the “People’s Republics” as independent. Shortly thereafter, the Russian President sent so-called peacekeeping troops to the areas. The Western Defense Alliance Nato* condemned this move.
According to UN estimates, more than 14,000 people have been killed in the civil war in eastern Ukraine over the past eight years. Diplomatic efforts are being made worldwide to resolve the conflict between Russia and Ukraine peacefully after all. (Talk to agencies) *fr.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.
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