Boris Johnson has claimed Russia is bent on a 'full-scale invasion of Ukraine' and said the UK would immediately impose economic sanctions.
Speaking after a 6.30am Cobra meeting, the prime minister said the UK was prepared to continue ratcheting up measures
Kenya has delivered an emphatic plea to Russia to pursue diplomacy, citing its own history. 'This situation echoes our history. Kenya and almost every African country was birthed by the ending of empire. Our borders were not of our own drawing,' Martin Kimani told the security council. 'Today across the border of every single African country live our countrymen with whom we share deep bonds.'
Continue reading...US ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield told an emergency UN security council meeting that Vladimir Putin's claim that Russian troops would take on a 'peacekeeping' role in the Donetsk and Lugansk areas was 'nonsense'. The late-night meeting took place after Putin recognised separatist areas of eastern Ukraine as independent. Member states called for diplomacy while Ukrainian representative Sergiy Kyslytsya called for an immediate withdrawal of occupation troops. 'The United Nations is sick. It has been hit by the virus spread by the Kremlin.'
Continue reading...Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy says Ukraine is 'not afraid of anyone or anything' after Russian president Vladimir Putin recognised separatist regions of eastern Ukraine as independent and then ordered in forces. 'Ukraine most certainly considers these last Russian actions as the violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our country,' he said. 'All responsibility for all the consequences connected with the decision mentioned above lies on the Russian political leadership'
Continue reading...Russian deployment follows decision to recognise territories in south-east will be viewed in Ukraine and by other western allies as an occupation
Vladimir Putin has ordered his military to enter the Russian-controlled areas of southeast Ukraine following a decision to recognise the territories as independent states.
The decision to dispatch his troops to perform “peacekeeping duties” will be viewed in Ukraine and by other western allies as an occupation of the region and likely trigger tough sanctions and a Ukrainian military response.
Continue reading...Video released by Ukraine appears to show a column of military vehicles with their headlights on moving in convoy along a road. The officials said it was not possible to tell if the troops belonged to the regular Russian army, or were from Russian-controlled separatist units
Continue reading...Vladimir Putin has said Russia will recognise the independence of two territories of eastern Ukraine, the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR) and the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR). Following a televised address aired on the country’s state-run news channel, Putin joined the leaders of the LPR and DPR to sign a decree recognising the independence of the two territories
Bellingcat founder Elliot Higgins says Russia’s propaganda films have got worse but that Russian viewers, especially the older generation, tend to believe fake TV footage
The video shows a ghostly scene. A night-time battle is taking place in a forest. There are flashes and mysterious bangs. An unidentified figure cries out in pain. The wounded man is wearing a helmet. Otherwise there are few clues as to where the footage was shot, or what exactly is going on.
A TV report by Russia’s state-run channel one gave the answer. The man seen in eerie silhouette was a Ukrainian saboteur, it said. He was part of a diversionary team sent across enemy lines into pro-Russian separatist territory. His mission? To blow up a local chlorine plant in the rebel-held town of Horlivka, the channel said.
Continue reading...This was a supreme leader marshalling his minions for a decision that will change the security architecture in Europe and may well lead to horrific war
Sitting alone at a desk in a grand, columned Kremlin room, Vladimir Putin looked across an expanse of parquet floor at his security council and asked if anyone wished to express an alternative opinion.
He was met with silence.
Continue reading...Alienated civilians, ruined homes and Ukrainian soldiers on the frontline
Continue reading...Flurry of phone calls by French president leads to ‘in principle agreement’, as US warns war is imminent
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has invited Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden to attend a summit aimed at de-escalating the Ukraine crisis, and the leaders have agreed in principle, Macron’s office has announced, amid further US warnings that war is imminent.
The Élysée Palace put out a statement on Sunday evening following last-minute diplomatic efforts by the French president to try to dissuade Russia from invading Ukraine.
Continue reading...Border regions appear unprepared for hundreds of people arriving from separatist-controlled areas in Ukraine
The first stop for Ella Fyodorova after she fled her home in eastern Ukraine was a windblown tent camp just across the Russian border, part of a mass evacuation effort that observers fear may become the pretext for Russia to launch a formal intervention in Ukraine.
“I wanted to stay, but my husband came home, and said: ‘Get your things together, we’re going,’” she said as she wrestled her two-year-old son into a blue snowsuit to walk to the public toilets nearby.
Continue reading...‘Has the world forgotten its mistakes of the 20th century?’ asks Volodymyr Zelenskiy as invasion looms
Just 20 minutes walk from the ornate Hotel Bayerischer Hof, where world leaders gathered this weekend for the Munich security conference, lies No 12 Arcisstrasse, the shuttered brown ornamental building known as the Führerbau.
On a cold grey Sunday morning, the building, now temporarily closed and in disrepair, has a forbidding air. Near the steps at the front is a small plaque with the bare inscription in German, Czech and Slovak: “In this building, on 29 September, 1938, the Munich agreement was signed, which led to the smashing of the Czechoslovak republic.”
Continue reading...Video footage shows Ukrainian officials, soldiers and foreign journalists running away from what appeared to be shelling as they visited the conflict zone in eastern Ukraine on Saturday. David Arakhamia, the faction leader of the ruling Servant of the People party, said the group drove to an 'observational outpost' in the Donetsk region and took shelter when it came under fire by '120mm calibre ammunition'. The group had to be evacuated to a shelter, the spokeswoman for President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's party said on Saturday
Continue reading...EU capitals concerned UK is not ensuring identity of real estate owners known in event of sanctions
Britain has frustrated its EU allies and weakened the west’s financial threat to the Kremlin by failing to close a loophole that will ensure London real estate remains a safe haven for Russian money, according to diplomatic sources in Brussels.
New legislation, described as the “toughest ever” by the foreign secretary, Liz Truss, gives the UK government powers to freeze the assets of individuals linked to the Russian state in the event of an invasion of Ukraine but fails to “capture” property owned via anonymous offshore structures.
Continue reading...Western governments have expressed solidarity with Volodymyr Zelenskiy but behind scenes there has been exasperation
When Volodymyr Zelenskiy sought to become Ukraine’s president he stood on a platform of peace. Zelenskiy promised to sit down with Vladimir Putin and to reach a deal with Russia. He would end the unpopular war in the east and concentrate on important domestic reforms. These included ridding the country of corruption and oligarchs.
The plan didn’t work out. Nearly three years after winning a landslide victory, Zelenskiy is a president on the brink of war. About 190,000 Russian troops are poised on Ukraine’s borders. The US president, Joe Biden, has warned of an attack on Kyiv. A Kremlin military offensive – whether full-scale or more limited in scope – seems likely, possibly within hours or days.
Continue reading...Leaders spoke on the phone for 105 minutes and outcome suggests Russia might be willing to step back from brink of invasion of Ukraine
Russian media has confirmed the deaths of two Ukrainian soldiers in the government-held part of Donetsk on Saturday, claiming the servicemen were part of a “sabotage group” planning “terrorist attacks” against gas pipelines and electrical substations in the region.
The claim comes as western leaders continue to accuse Moscow and Russian-backed rebels of spreading misinformation as pretext for a possible invasion.
Continue reading...In divided Luhansk, residents have lived in the shadow of conflict for years. But now the shells are getting louder and closer
Raisa Malashenko was trundling her rusty bicycle, laden with bags of food, through the centre of Stanytsia Luhanska on Saturday afternoon. The 81-year-old did not flinch as booms of artillery sounded in the distance.
Her five children have all left this frontline town, some for Russia and others for safer parts of Ukraine. “It’s just me and my cow now,” she said mournfully.
Continue reading...Russia is expected to attack simultaneously on several fronts, but Ukraine’s armed forces will not be easily vanquished
Exploiting its overwhelming superiority in land, sea and air forces, Russia is expected to attack simultaneously on several fronts, from the north-east, the Donbas and Crimea. Ground troops in Belarus, backed by airstrikes, would spearhead a lightning drive south to seize the capital, Kyiv. Ukraine’s encircled army would be forced, in theory, to surrender.
Continue reading...The Ukrainian president joked that Russians have hacked his headset after translations stopped working during a discussion at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday. Speaking to Christaine Amanpour, Volodymyr Zelenskiy can be seen fiddling with his headset before he jokingly says: ‘I think, cyber-attack.’
Zelenskiy travelled to Munich to deliver a rallying call to the west, despite US warnings that Russia might exploit his absence to topple him before he returns to Kyiv.
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