Ukraine was poised to implement a 30-day state of emergency on Wednesday, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called up military reservists, as Russia recognized two separatist regions as independent and appeared mobilized for major military action.
Zelenskyy said that Ukraine wants “silence” but noted it must act. “But if we remain silent today, we will disappear tomorrow,” he said late Tuesday.
The nation’s parliament must approve the emergency declaration, initiated by Ukraine’s security council and coming a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin received permission from lawmakers to use troops outside the country.
The Kremlin’s actions drew wide condemnation and major sanctions from the United States and European Union.
“Russia just announced that it is carving out a big chunk of Ukraine,” President Joe Biden said Thursday. And that served as the trigger for the US to impose sanctions targeting Moscow’s banks, some elite individuals. Biden said Russia “will pay an even steeper price” if aggression continues.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other officials have remained on an even keel, downplaying any threat, even as their nation has become surrounded by nearly 150,000 Russian troops, built up over months. On Tuesday, Zelenskyy called together what amounted
Zelenskyy continued talks on Tuesday with neighboring leaders, speaking with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Diplomacy between Russia and Western allies appeared all but dead, following the announcement of penalties. Secretary of State Antony Blinken canceled his Thursday meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
China opposes US sanctions on Russia
China on Wednesday accused the US of creating “fear and panic” over the crisis in Ukraine, and called for talks to reduce rapidly building tensions.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said China is opposed to new unilateral sanctions imposed on Russia, reiterating a longstanding Chinese position.
She said the US was fueling tensions by providing defensive weapons to Ukraine, without mentioning Russia’s deployment of as many as 190,000 troops on the Ukrainian border. Hua also did not mention efforts by the US, France and others to engage Russia diplomatically.
China-Russia ties have grown closer under Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing earlier this month. The two sides issued a joint statement backing Moscow’s opposition to a NATO expansion in former Soviet republics and buttressing China’s claim to the self-governing island of Taiwan.
–Associated Press
US, EU impose sanctions on Russia
The sanctions Biden outlined on Tuesday target two Russian banks, VEB and military bank Promsvyazbank, along with the penalties on the country’s sovereign debt. The Biden administration said those steps would be the most crippling.
The US official described the first bank targeted by the US as “a glorified piggy bank for the Kremlin that holds more than $50 billion in assets.” He said Promsvyazbank finances the activities of the Russian military.
“That means we’ve cut off Russia’s government from Western financing,” he said. “It can no longer raise money from the West and cannot trade in its new debt on our markets or the European markets either.”
Russian oligarchs were targeted, too, including: Aleksandr Vasilievich Bortnikov, director of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation, and his son Dennis; Petr Mikhailovich Fradkov, chairman and CEO of PSB, or Promsvyazbank; and Sergei Vladilenovich Kiriyenko, first deputy chief of staff of the presidential office, and his son Vladimir.
Contributing: Michael Collins, USA TODAY; Associated Press
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George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism