Canada, the United States and other NATO allies are promising new economic sanctions on Russia after President Vladimir Putin recognized the independence of separatist regions in eastern Ukraine and ordered Russian troops to “maintain the peace” there.
The United Nations Security Council will hold an emergency meeting Monday night at the request of Ukraine, the U.S. and six other countries. Russia, which currently holds the rotating council presidency, has scheduled it for 9 p.m. Eastern time.
Ahead of the meeting, Western nations denounced Putin’s announcement and said they are preparing sanctions that are separate from those that have been promised if the Russian military invades Ukraine.
“Canada, with its partners and allies, will react firmly to this blatant disregard for international law,” Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly said in a statement.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau echoed Joly in his own statement, adding Canada “reject(s) and condemn(s) Russian decrees ordering military forces into Ukraine.”
Joly said she has discussed coordinated sanctions with her European Union counterpart, Josep Borrell Fontelles. She also discussed Canada’s response with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also promised sanctions in a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, which are expected to be announced and imposed on Tuesday.
“The Prime Minister told President Zelenskiy that he believed an invasion was a real possibility in the coming hours and days,” Johnson’s office said in a statement following a call between the leaders.
Russia’s Putin continues to raise concern about Ukraine joining NATO, as talks of possible summit continue
U.S. President Joe Biden issued an executive order that will prohibit economic activity between U.S. individuals and the two breakaway regions Putin recognized, Donetsk and Luhansk.
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The order will “also provide authority to impose sanctions on any person determined to operate in those areas of Ukraine,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said.
Additional sanctions are also expected to be announced on Tuesday, the White House said.
Putin justified his decision in a pre-recorded speech blaming NATO for the current crisis and calling the U.S.-led alliance an existential threat to Russia. Sweeping through more than a century of history, he painted today’s Ukraine as a modern construct that is inextricably linked to Russia. He charged that Ukraine had inherited Russia’s historic lands and after the Soviet collapse was used by the West to contain Russia.
“I consider it necessary to take a long-overdue decision: To immediately recognize the independence and sovereignty of Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic,” Putin said.
Afterward, he signed decrees recognizing the Donetsk and Luhansk regions’ independence, eight years after fighting erupted between Russia-backed separatists and Ukrainian forces, and called on lawmakers to approve measures paving the way for military support.
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said in a statement he was “greatly concerned” about Russia’s actions, which he considers a violation of the U.N. Charter. He cancelled a trip to Africa and is expected to return to New York on Tuesday, a spokesperson said.
Ukrainian U.N. Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya said in a letter to his Russian counterpart that Kyiv was requesting Monday night’s urgent meeting because Putin’s actions violate Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and multiple U.N. resolutions, including the Charter.
It is virtually certain the Security Council will not take any action or issue any statement because Russia has veto power.
Russia supports summit on Ukraine, but needs to understand possible results: Lavrov
Putin’s announcement shattered a 2015 peace deal signed in Minsk requiring Ukrainian authorities to offer broad self-rule to the rebel regions, a major diplomatic coup for Moscow.
That deal was resented by many in Ukraine who saw it as a capitulation, a blow to the country’s integrity and a betrayal of national interests. Putin and other officials argued Monday that Ukrainian authorities have shown no appetite for implementing it.
Over 14,000 people have been killed since conflict erupted in the eastern industrial heartland in 2014, shortly after Moscow annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula.
Putin has continued to deny he plans to invade Ukraine, despite the amassing of over 150,000 Russian troops at the border and increasing Western intelligence reports suggesting an invasion is imminent.
Efforts by Western leaders, including Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron, to find a diplomatic solution with Putin have yielded few apparent results. Russia has called for concessions from NATO that allies have said are off the table, including the rollback of its forces in Eastern Europe.
A last-minute bid for a summit between Biden and Putin appeared to fall apart following Monday’s announcement.
–With files from the Associated Press and Reuters
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