The United States is set to issue sanctions directed at Russia following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s announcement that Russia will regard two areas in Ukraine’s Donbas region as independent, and his subsequent signing of a decree that authorized Russian troops to be sent into the area for so-called “peacekeeping operations.”
After an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting late Monday, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield announced the impending U.S. actions.
“Tomorrow, the United States will impose sanctions on Russia for this clear violation of international law and Ukraine sovereignty and territorial integrity,” she told reporters, adding, “We can, will, and must stand united in our calls for Russia to withdraw its forces, return to the diplomatic table, and work toward peace.”
At the emergency meeting, Thomas-Greenfield dismissed Putin’s actions as “nonsense.”
“[Putin] has since announced that he will place Russian troops in these regions. He calls them peacekeepers,” Thomas-Greenfield said. “This is nonsense. We know what they really are.”
Putin justified his decision in a pre-recorded speech blaming NATO for the current situation and calling the U.S.-led alliance an existential threat to Russia. The Russian president described 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.
Western nations have expressed concern that Russia will order an invasion of Ukraine, and estimate that more than 150,000 Russian troops are gathered along Ukraine’s border. Russia has denied it has any plans to invade Ukraine, accusing western allies of expanding NATO in a threat to Moscow’s security as Ukraine seeks to be granted membership.
In 2014, Russian troops seized and annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula. Since then, skirmished between Russian and Ukrainian forces have been reported in Ukraine’s Donbas region. The ongoing war has killed over 14,000 people since 2014. Ukraine and the West have accused Russia of supporting the separatists with arms and troops, but Moscow has denied that, saying that the Russians who fought were volunteers.
