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Russia-Ukraine conflict

AS PUTIN SENDS TROOPS INTO DONBAS, WHITE HOUSE AVOIDS THE 'I' WORD

Deploying forces in eastern territories "would not itself be a new step," a
senior official says amid calls for stepped up sanctions.

Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a Security Council meeting in Moscow,
Russia, on Feb. 21, 2022. | Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP

By Paul McLeary and Andrew Desiderio

02/21/2022 05:20 PM EST

Updated: 02/21/2022 06:36 PM EST

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Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered troops into the breakaway Luhansk and
Donetsk regions Monday night, following his decision earlier in the day to
recognize those regions as independent republics, and no longer part of Ukraine.

The troops will carry out “peacekeeping functions” in the two regions, according
to the order.

As Russian armored columns were seen entering the two areas, it was clear that
the order will immediately reconfigure the European security landscape as
capitals across the continent scramble to respond to the possibility that has
long faced them: a large-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“This was a speech to the Russian people to justify war,” a senior
administration official told reporters Monday.

The official, who requested anonymity in order to discuss sensitive issues,
wouldn’t call the move an invasion, however, saying “Russian troops moving into
Donbas would not itself be a new step. Russia has had forces in the Donbas for
the past eight years.”

It’s an important distinction, as an invasion would trigger sanctions on Russia
and imperil diplomatic meetings that were set on the condition that Russia not
invade Ukraine.

Still, the official said they “strongly suspect sanctions activity” from the
Biden administration on Tuesday, in addition to the penalties that President Joe
Biden imposed via executive order on Monday night.

The Biden administration’s posture was met with immediate pushback from
Republicans on Capitol Hill, who argued that the full slate of sanctions should
be triggered once Russian troops cross into Ukraine. They noted that this was
the White House’s own definition of an “invasion” of the country.

“With reports that Putin is now sending troops into the regions of Donetsk and
Luhansk under the guise of ‘peacekeepers,’ now is not the time for symbolic
pinpricks that will serve only to embolden Putin and endanger our friends in
Ukraine,” Reps. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) and Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) said in a
joint statement.

“Now is the time for President Biden to impose sanctions that strike at the
heart of the Russian economy, and permanently end Nord Stream 2 once and for
all, as he promised the world he would do,” added the lawmakers, who serve as
the top Republicans on the House Foreign Affairs and Armed Services committees,
respectively.

McCaul and Rogers called the sanctions announced Monday “the definition of
impotence,” while Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), said they were “wholly unequal to
this moment.”

After announcing he would recognize the regions, Putin met with Denis Pushilin
and Leonid Pasechnik, leaders of the Russian-backed rebel forces and signed
documents pledging cooperation and aid.

Putin signs decree recognizing breakaway territories in eastern Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin signs a document recognizing the independence
of separatist regions in eastern Ukraine in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia,
raising tensions with West.
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The move caps off weeks of desperate diplomacy between western governments and
Putin’s regime, including multiple trips to Moscow by European leaders.

Less than 24 hours before Putin gave the order for the troops to move in, there
had been an agreement “in principle” between Putin and Biden to continue talks.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken was set to hash out the details with his
Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov later this week. It’s unclear where those
plans stand now, but the armored vehicles pouring across the Russian border
Monday evening may have slammed the door shut on any further diplomacy.

The remaining U.S. embassy staff currently based in Lviv have relocated to
Poland for a night, a move described by Secretary of State Antony Blinken as the
U.S. taking “prudent precautions.”

It wasn’t just Republicans who demanded harsher sanctions in response to Putin’s
latest moves.

“To be clear, if any additional Russian troops or proxy forces cross into
Donbas, the Biden administration and our European allies must not hesitate in
imposing crushing sanctions. There must be tangible, far-reaching and
substantial costs for Russia in response to this unjustified act,” Senate
Foreign Relations Committee Chair Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) said.

“Despite repeated efforts to open the door to diplomacy, Vladimir Putin has
chosen the path of conflict,” Menendez added.

Other Democrats, too, seemed to up the pressure on Biden to act with more severe
sanctions.

“The time for taking action to impose significant costs on President Putin and
the Kremlin starts now,” said Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), a trusted Biden
confidant. “We must swiftly join our NATO allies and partners in the European
Union to impose forceful new sanctions on Russia, on all those responsible for
this dangerous violation of international law, and to provide emergency support
for Ukraine.”

As the evening progressed, statements flooded in from European capitals
demanding swift and harsh sanctions against Russia.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba demanded a meeting of the U.N. Security
Council, and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said “years of effort”
focused on diplomacy “are being destroyed deliberately and without any
comprehensible reason.”

U.N. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield called Putin’s actions “an unprovoked
violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” and threw support
behind Ukraine’s call for a Security Council meeting.

“Russia’s announcement is nothing more than theater, apparently designed to
create a pretext for a further invasion of Ukraine,” Thomas-Greenfield added.

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* Filed under:
* Russia,
* Vladimir Putin,
* Ukraine,
* Donetsk,
* Russia-Ukraine conflict

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