The upper house of Russia’s parliament approved a plan to deploy the country’s military abroad following a request on Tuesday by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The move came as several European leaders said Russian troops rolled into the rebel-held areas in eastern Ukraine after Putin recognized their independence. But it was unclear how large the deployment was, and Ukraine and its Western allies have long said Russian troops were fighting in the region, allegations that Moscow always denied.
When asked by a reporter about whether he sent Russian forces into Ukraine, Putin said, “I haven’t said that the troops will go there right now.” He then continued to say that it is “impossible to forecast a specific pattern of action ... it will depend on a concrete situation as it takes shape on the ground.”
Putin also called for recognition of Crimea as a part of Russia, a halt to weapons shipments to Ukraine, and an end to Ukraine’s bid to join NATO.
“To protect their lives and safety, the Russian leadership has decided to evacuate the personnel of Russian foreign missions in Ukraine, which will be implemented in the very near future,” the statement said.
The Federation Council’s authorization grants Putin the ability to use Russian military forces outside its borders “in accordance with the principles and norms of international law,” reported state media, citing the document. It also doesn’t impose limits on the number of troops or equipment, as well as “the areas of their activity, their goals, and length of stay outside Russia ... “in accordance with the Constitution.”
In a lengthy speech, Putin said he would recognize the separatist Donetsk and Lugansk regions in eastern Ukraine at the request of the leaders of the two areas, about eight years after they broke away from Ukraine in a conflict that has cost about 14,000 lives. Russia, which also annexed the Crimean peninsula in 2014, has long been said to have provided weapons and funding to the two breakaway areas.
Putin said that he believes parts of Ukraine are “ancient Russian lands” and further said that a U.S.-backed color revolution in 2014 installed a “puppet regime” in Kyiv.
After Putin’s declaration, several Western leaders said they would impose sanctions on top-level Russian officials. Meanwhile, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told reporters Tuesday that the Russia-to-Germany Nord Stream pipeline would be suspended.
As sanctions were being laid down, top White House officials signaled that they would start to refer to Putin’s actions in eastern Ukraine as an invasion.
“We think this is, yes, the beginning of an invasion, Russia’s latest invasion into Ukraine,” said Jon Finer, a White House deputy national security adviser, told CNN. “An invasion is an invasion, and that is what is underway.”
However, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters Tuesday that while Russia’s “latest invasion” of Ukraine is threatening peace in the region, Putin can “still avoid a full blown, tragic war of choice.”
