Biden Orders First Sanctions Against Moscow

Russian President Vladimir Putin is sending “peacekeeping” forces into separatist areas of eastern Ukraine. The move comes at the end of a day that seem calculated to and coordinated to justify (falsely) an invasion of the former Soviet satellite.

Putin calling the troops he's ordered into eastern Ukraine "peacekeepers," is like a burglars describing themselves as "home improvement specialists."

— David Axelrod (@davidaxelrod) February 21, 2022

President Biden has already signed the first sanctions for the region. The Washington Post adds:

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called Putin’s recognition of the breakaway territories a “blatant violation” of international law and said the bloc would “react with unity, firmness and with determination in solidarity with Ukraine.”

British Foreign Minister Liz Truss tweeted that the U.K. would announce “new sanctions on Russia in response to their breach of international law and attack on Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

The Washington Post

Putin’s unilateral declaration that territories within Ukraine are now independent republics is an arrogant and dangerous move by the Kremlin dictator.

The U.S. and our NATO allies are united in our determination to punish this blatant violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty.

— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) February 21, 2022

The day began with Putin formally recognizing the breakaway areas which are technically part of Ukraine, and by nightfall, he’d authorized troops into the area. Will soldiers soon be on their way to Kiev? From Putin’s remarks, it certainly sounds like it. In a televised address, The Post writes, “Putin excoriated Ukraine’s leaders and called the country “a colony with puppets at its helm” where Russian speakers were oppressed. “Ukraine has never had its own authentic statehood. There has never been a sustainable statehood in Ukraine,” he said. He warned that Ukraine could develop its own nuclear weapons, calling this a “real threat,” adding that the West might help Kyiv develop them.”

Here’s the BBC: