Russia Ukraine news

Russian President Vladimir Putin has defied the West, recognized two separatist-held regions in Ukraine as independent states and appears to be sending in his ...

What is the policy here in the States?" While Americans are warning of the beginning of an invasion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday he believes "there will be no war" with Russia. But if you'll pardon the distillation, it runs like this: Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks created the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic; Joseph Stalin expanded it after World War II by annexing territory that previously belonged to Poland, Romania and Hungary; and then Nikita Khrushchev (who led the Soviet Union during the height of the Cold War), for some unknown reason, took away the Crimean Peninsula from Russia and gifted it to Ukraine. Et voila! "If there is, then we will put Ukraine on a war footing." "There's some ambiguity about what the borders of these self-declared republics actually are," said CNN's Clarissa Ward, appearing from Kyiv on Tuesday before Biden spoke. "Russia has been deep in the process of inoculating itself against these Western sanctions. Former US Defense Secretary William Cohen, who served under President Bill Clinton, said he was not at all optimistic the new sanctions would have any effect on Putin -- and that the US already needs to be preparing for other ways to contain him. He adds that the US could restrict exports that could hurt Russia's manufacturing and affect its imports of smartphones and automobile components. since 2014 and more than 14,000 people have died as a result. That single move could force the Russian economy to shrink by 5%, he writes. The new language emerged Tuesday morning on CNN, where deputy national security adviser Jon Finer said, "We think this is, yes, the beginning of an invasion, Russia's latest invasion into Ukraine." - UK -- kick out the oligarchs.

The United States and other Western countries have started to impose sanctions on Russia for its moves into eastern Ukraine. The sanctions so far are ...

Europe is reliant on Russia for about a third of its natural gas, and with fuel prices spiking and the continent already feeling an energy crunch ( which some believe Russia has been happy to let happen), it is wary of even greater disruptions. The US has also said it will target oligarchs and their family members, but so far it’s a limited number of individuals. As Biden and some of his Western counterparts made clear, this is likely the first round of penalties. The United States and some of its partners appeared to vacillate on what, exactly, to call Russia’s actions in the immediate aftermath. The UK sanctioned a few oligarchs, and put limited sanctions on some banks. Biden said the actions mean Russia’s government “can no longer raise money from the West and cannot trade in its new debt on our markets or European markets either.” Moscow is also very likely to engage in its own countermeasures, in defense of what it sees as a justified action in Ukraine — which Putin has already said he doesn’t see as a sovereign country. The US and Europe are not exempt, especially as these economies are dealing with the post-pandemic recovery and inflation. Biden warned Tuesday that Russia is “poised to go much further in launching a massive military attack in Ukraine.” This flurry of diplomatic action came after tensions on Ukraine’s border rapidly escalated this weekend, and on Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin moved to recognize as independent the so-called Luhansk People’s Republic and the Donetsk People’s Republic, two territories in eastern Ukraine where he has manufactured a separatist conflict since 2014. But it was a violation of international law and Ukraine’s sovereignty, an attempt by Russia to essentially redraw Ukraine’s borders. Germany also paused certification for the $11 billion Nord Stream 2 pipeline, something the US and many of its partners very much wanted.

Volodymyr Zelenskiy warns Ukraine faces existential threat as Biden says US was bringing tough new sanctions against Russia for 'beginning' invasion.

Zelenskiy said that Ukraine is a peaceful country, but its people would not stay quiet in the face of aggression. The UK was willing to introduce other “measures to limit Russia’s ability to trade and prohibit a range of high-tech exports, degrading the development of its military industrial base for years”. We have hard work ahead, every day, but we are read for it, with confidence in ourselves, our country and victory,” he said. US secretary of state Antony Blinken cancelled a meeting planned for Thursday with Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, saying Russia’s actions indicated it was not serious about a diplomatic path to resolving the crisis. Joe Biden denounced the move as an attempt to carve out “a big chunk” of the country. Volodymyr Zelenskiy ruled out a general mobilisation in an evening address to the nation.

Our lawyers discuss sanctions issued or announced by the United States and several allies targeting Russia and the Russia-backed separatist regions of ...

In the lead up to the recent sanctions, leaders of the NATO countries engaged in close coordination and dialogue and had reported that they have “ wrapped up“ and are “ unified“ on potential sanctions packages to be used. This is therefore a very significant expansion in the scope of the designation criteria which empowers the UK to impose sanctions on a wide range of businesses that may not necessarily have a strong nexus to the Russian government, save that the nature of their business and/or the sector(s) in which they operate are of economic significance to the Russian government. However, the recent measures allow more authority for the Western countries to issue additional sanctions in case of further escalation—such as a new Executive Order that authorizes sanctions on persons operating in the separatist regions of Ukraine and a financial services sector determination that authorizes sanctions on persons operating in the Russian financial services sector. Foreign Secretary, Liz Truss, said in her statement that “this first wave of sanctions will hit oligarchs and banks close to the Kremlin. It sends a clear message that the UK will use [its] economic heft to inflict pain on Russia and degrade their strategic interests.” She further stated that “in the event of further aggressive acts by Russia against Ukraine,” the UK has prepared “an unprecedented package of further sanctions ready to go. There has been much speculation in recent days about the sanctions packages that would be revealed upon Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. So far, many world leaders have stopped short of calling Russia’s recognition of the two regions and his deployment of the Russian military to these regions a full-scale invasion, perhaps in part as an effort to deescalate tension or to leave space for additional sanctions if the situation worsens. The Nord Stream 2 project was intended to supply energy from Russia to the European Union, and Germany—along with other EU member states—had so far contested any attempts to impose sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 project in light of Russian aggression, in part due to the European Union’s heavy reliance on energy sources from Russia. With this action, Germany sent a clear message that it stands ready to join severe sanctions against Russia. Parties planning to rely on these general licenses should note that all six general licenses expressly limit their authorizations to transactions and activities that are prohibited by this particular Executive Order. The general licenses do not authorize transactions with persons or entities designated pursuant to other sanctions programs. Such measures will likely take the form of targeted EU Economic Sanctions and prohibit or at least limit dealings with, for example, transferable securities and money-market instruments with a certain maturity and prohibit making loans or credit to those targeted. After the meeting of the council, Putin delivered a televised address to the public, referring to eastern Ukraine as “historically Russian territory” and saying that it is “necessary to take a long overdue decision to immediately recognize the independence and sovereignty of the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic.” Immediately thereafter, Putin ordered Russian troops to enter the regions for a “peacekeeping” mission under the treaties of “friendship and mutual assistance” that Russia ratified that same day with the individual regions. OFAC accompanied this determination with FAQ 964, noting that its determination merely lays the groundwork for future sanctions against persons that operate in the financial services sector, rather than actually serving as sanctions on the entire financial services sector. NATO allies also announced sanctions—including targeted designations by the United Kingdom and a sanctions package by the European Union—and non-NATO allies promised tough sanctions in close coordination. These actions are only among a few of several tools we expect the United States and its allies will use in the coming days and weeks as Russia continues to stoke military tension in the region.

Russia's decision to order troops into parts of eastern Ukraine is "the beginning of a Russian invasion," President Biden said on Tuesday as he announced a ...

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Seeking to deter Russian President Vladimir Putin from further military action, Biden said the United States would apply the “first tranche of sanctions” on ...