- West struggles to maintain unity in face of Russia-Ukraine crisis
- Russia condemned at UN after Putin orders troops into eastern Ukraine
- UK to announce ‘barrage of sanctions’ against Russia
German chancellor says situation ‘has fundamentally changed’, reports The Guardian.
German chancellor won’t certify key Russian gas pipeline
Nord Stream 2, the 750-mile pipeline connecting Russia and Germany, has been completed but has not yet certified by Germany’s energy regulator. These words, via my colleague Philip Oltermann, suggest the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, has decided to pull the plug on the pipeline because of the Ukraine crisis.
About the conference
Ben Wallace, the UK defence secretary, wrapped up the Joint Expeditionary Force conference of 10 European defence ministers in Britain – mostly from the Baltic and Nordic countries – with a challenge to President Vladimir Putin’s view of history:
“If you want to know what his next intentions are, I recommend you listen to his latest speech that he made last night, full of huge inaccuracies, one of them is that Ukraine is not a proper state.
I should remind people Ukraine has been separate to Russia as a nation longer than it’s been part of Russia. That’s a simple fact of history. You should look at the history books and not selectively pick dates that suit the narrative.”
The conference, held in Belvoir Castle, wrapped up a couple of hours earlier in response to the Ukraine crisis, with all 10 defence ministers “united in our condemnation” of Russia’s recognition of the self-proclaimed republics in Luhansk and Donetsk, “the build-up of Russian forces on the border with Ukraine, and further incursion in the Donbas region”.
Risk of serious violations
The UN human rights chief has warned that a military escalation in Ukraine would significantly increase the risk of serious violations, AFP reports.
Michelle Bachelet said in a statement that she was “deeply concerned” following Putin’s decision to recognise the independence of eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk separatist republics.
“Any significant escalation in military action creates a heightened risk of serious human rights violations as well as violations of international humanitarian law,” Bachelet said.
The UN high commissioner for human rights stressed that “at this critical juncture, the priority, above all, must be to prevent a further escalation, and to prevent civilian casualties, displacement and destruction of civilian infrastructure”.
“I call on all sides to cease hostilities and to pave the way for dialogue instead of setting the stage for further violence,” she added.
The UN rights agency, she said, would “continue to monitor the situation closely from our offices on both sides of the contact line in the east of the country”.
The invasion
The White House has now begun referring to Russian troop deployments in eastern Ukraine as an “invasion”, AP reports.
Several European leaders said earlier in the day that Russian troops had moved into rebel-held areas in eastern Ukraine after Putin recognised their independence — but some indicated it was not yet the long-feared, full-fledged invasion.
The White House, which had been reluctant to use the word “invasion”, signalled a shift in its own position on Tuesday.
“We think this is, yes, the beginning of an invasion, Russia’s latest invasion into Ukraine,” said Jon Finer, principal deputy national security adviser. He said “latest” was important. “An invasion is an invasion and that is what is under way.”
The White House decided to begin referring to Russia’s actions as an “invasion” because of the situation on the ground, according to a US official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.
The administration resisted initially calling the deployment of troops because the White House wanted to see what Russia was actually going to do. After assessing Russian troop movements, it became clear it was a new invasion, the official added.
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Source: The Guardian
