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.
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 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:
