Zelenskyy to consider severing diplomatic relations with Russia
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he will weigh the possibility of severing diplomatic relations with Russia.
Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, Zelenskyy said he had received a request from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to "consider the issue of severing diplomatic relations between Ukraine and Russia."
He said that following the news conference, he would "look at and work on this issue, and not only this issue, but our effective steps countering the escalation coming from the Russian Federation."
After Russia formally recognized the independence of two breakaway regions, he said: "We understand all the risks."
U.S., Russia trade accusations at Security Council
People of self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic celebrate Monday after being recognized by Russia
Ukraine 'ready and able to defend ourselves,' defense minister says
Ukraine's defense minister has said his country is "ready and able to defend ourselves and our sovereignty" as he appeared to call for sanctions from the international community.
In a statement on Tuesday, Oleksii Reznikov said Ukraine remained "confident and calm" after Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized the independence of two breakaway states in eastern Ukraine.
"We are ready and able to defend ourselves and our sovereignty," he said in a Twitter statement, adding that the "world cannot be silent."
In a separate statement, he said: "There are difficult challenges ahead. There will be losses."
"We will have to go through pain, overcome fear and despair," Reznikov said.
2,000 ceasefire violations in Ukrainian breakaway regions over weekend, security organization says
The world's largest regional security organization recorded a rise over the weekend in the number of ceasefire violations in the two Moscow-backed breakaway regions that Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized as independent on Monday.
In a statement Tuesday, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe's special monitoring mission to Ukraine it said it had recorded at least 2,158 ceasefire violations, including 1,100 explosions in the Donetsk region between the evenings of Friday and Sunday.
In the previous reporting period, it said it had recorded 591 ceasefire violations in the region.
Meanwhile, in the Luhansk region, it said it had recorded 1,073 ceasefire violations, including 926 explosions, over the same time period. In the previous reporting period, it said it had recorded 975 ceasefire violations in the region.
The rise in ceasefire violations came ahead of Putin's decision Monday to order troops into Ukraine just hours after formally recognizing the independence of the self-proclaimed "Donetsk People’s Republic" and "Luhansk People’s Republic," which have been controlled by Russian-backed separatists since 2014.
Separatist leaders for the regions had called for evacuations of civilians to Russia last week, warning of an imminent Ukrainian offensive.
Ukraine repeatedly denied any such plans, while its Western allies accused Moscow of attempting to create a pretext for an invasion.
U.S. to announce sanctions against Russia Tuesday
The United States is set to announce new sanctions against Russia on Tuesday in coordination with its allies after Moscow recognized two breakaway regions of Ukraine as independent and sent forces to the area, U.S. officials have said.
"Tomorrow, the U.S. will impose sanctions on Russia for its violation of international law and Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity," U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said in a statement on Twitter Monday night.
"We can, will, and must stand united in our calls for Russia to withdraw its forces, return to the diplomatic table & work toward peace," Greenfield said.
In a separate post, Greenfield also struck out at Russia's characterization of troops sent to Ukraine's Donbas region as "peacekeepers."
"President (Vladimir) Putin ordered troops into the Donbas, calling them peacekeepers. This is nonsense. We know what they really are," the ambassador said. "In doing so, he has put before the world a choice. We must meet the moment, and we must not look away."
The expected sanctions come after President Joe Biden signed an executive order Monday imposing sanctions targeting the two Russia-backed breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine after Putin recognized the regions as independent.
Putin orders troops to eastern Ukraine
Late Monday night, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered troops into Ukraine, just hours after he formally recognized the independence of two Moscow-backed breakaway regions in the eastern part of the country.
The order was seen by the United States and its European allies as a dramatic provocation after weeks of warnings that Moscow was trying to create a pretext to invade its neighbor. It led to the U.S. and the European Union announcing sanctions targeting the two areas, with more set to follow, and drew condemnation at an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council.
Putin framed the troop movement as a “peacekeeping” effort in both regions. The move came after days of escalation in the ongoing conflict between Kyiv's forces and Russian-backed separatists in Ukraine's east — and hours after he delivered a lengthy speech presenting his view of the relationship between the two nations.
Many experts believed Moscow’s formal recognition would effectively scuttle a previous cease-fire agreement in the conflict, which has been ongoing since Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula and moved to back the separatists in 2014.
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