Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered forces to “maintain peace” in separatist regions of eastern Ukraine, hours after the Kremlin recognized the area’s independence, Euronews reports.
The Kremlin's announcement came just hours after Putin, in a rambling, fact-bending discourse on European history, recognised the independence of the so-called Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic in separatist-held parts of eastern Ukraine, paving the way to provide them military support and antagonizing Western leaders who regard such a move as an unjust breach of world order.
Underscoring the urgency, the UN Security Council held a rare nighttime emergency meeting on Monday at the request of Ukraine, the US and other countries. Undersecretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo opened the session with a warning that “the risk of major conflict is real and needs to be prevented at all costs.”
Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, sought to project calm, telling the country: “We are not afraid of anyone or anything. We don’t owe anyone anything. And we won’t give anything to anyone.”
He said Kyiv "unequivocally qualifies the recent actions of the Russian Federation as a violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our state" and said he now expects "clear and effective support steps from our partners."
His foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, would be in Washington on Tuesday to meet with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the State Department said.
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