RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin has reportedly ordered troops into separatist-held parts of eastern Ukraine in what he called a “peacekeeping” mission.
According to CNN, the order came just hours after he signed decrees recognising the independence of the Moscow-backed regions.
The decrees signed by Putin conveyed Moscow’s official recognition over two breakaway territories in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine – the Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic (DPR and LPR).
The Russian upper chamber of parliament, the Federation Council, yesterday unanimously authorised the use of the Russian armed forces in Ukraine.
The council made the decision after President Putin asked the body’s permission to use the military abroad, specifically in the breakaway regions of Ukraine’s Donbas region.
The United Kingdom (UK) said it is sanctioning five Russian banks and three wealthy individuals.
The United States (U.S.) and European Union (EU) also announced far-reaching sanctions over the new development.
U.S. President Joe Biden announced that he will enact the “first tranche” of sanctions on Russia in response to Vladimir Putin’s recognition of the two self-proclaimed republics.
The president said the U.S. would impose sanctions on Russian financial institutions, sovereign debt and the country’s elites and their family members.
Addressing parliament yesterday, Boris Johnson, UK prime minister, said the sanction was the “first tranche” and “first barrage” of measures in response to Russian troops moving into two separatist regions of Ukraine.
But, the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, is “greatly concerned” by the Russian Federation’s decision on the status of certain areas of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions, his spokesperson said.