Ukraine moved to introduce a state of emergency Wednesday as the United States and its allies ramped up pressure on Russia with sanctions and the threat of more to come, the latest signals that the West believes a full-scale invasion is likely in the coming days.
Kyiv has until now been cooler about the threat of war, but on Wednesday its National Security and Defense Council asked the country’s parliament to impose a nationwide state of emergency. The government also urged all Ukrainian citizens to leave Russia and has started conscripting reservists between the ages of 18 and 60.
Recent estimates have put the number of Ukrainians living in Russia between 1.9 million and 3 million.
Russian President Vladimir Putin continued to show no signs of stepping back from the brink of a deadly new conflict in Europe, with hopes for a diplomatic resolution to the crisis appearing all but over.
Russia has pushed back against the sanctions and given no indication it is withdrawing the 150,000-plus troops it has massed around Ukraine.
In a highly provocative move, Putin said Tuesday that Russia’s recognition of two regions in eastern Ukraine controlled by Russian-backed separatists stretched to large swaths of territory held by the Ukrainian military. The move further raised concerns a broader armed conflict could break out as Russian troops move in, and came after the Russian leader gained parliamentary approval to use his armed forces abroad.
“Our country is always open for direct and honest dialogue, for the search for diplomatic solutions to the most complex problems,” Putin said Wednesday in a video statement released to coincide with the annual Defender of the Fatherland Day. “But I repeat: The interests of Russia, the security of our citizens are unconditional for us.”
A day earlier, President Joe Biden said Tuesday that Putin’s order of troops into eastern Ukraine, the area controlled by Russian proxies, amounted to “the beginning of a Russian invasion.”
“We still believe that Russia is poised to go much further and launch a massive military attack against Ukraine,” Biden said in remarks at the White House.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken canceled a planned meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov — a further sign of the waning window for diplomacy.
U.S. allies including the European Union, Canada, Germany, Britain, Australia and Japan have all announced they have imposed or will impose sanctions against Russia.
Chief among their targets were Russian banks. Although political opposition figures in Washington, London and elsewhere said the measures did not hit hard enough, Biden and his allies have made it clear that more measures will be imposed should Russian forces cross into Ukrainian-controlled territory.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced earlier Tuesday that he would halt the regulatory approval process for Nord Stream 2, a controversial pipeline that bypasses Ukrainian transit infrastructure to deliver Russian gas directly to Germany.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
