'None of us will be fooled' by Russian President Vladimir Putin's claims about Ukraine, the U.S. President said.
MOSCOW — President Joe Biden announced the U.S. was ordering heavy financial sanctions against Russian banks and oligarchs on Tuesday, declaring that Moscow had flagrantly violated international law by invading Ukraine.
Several European leaders said Russian troops rolled into rebel-held areas in eastern Ukraine after Putin recognized their independence. But it was unclear how large the deployment was, and Ukraine and its Western allies have long said Russian troops were fighting in the region, allegations that Moscow always denied.
Asked whether he has sent any Russian troops into Ukraine and how far they could go, Putin responded:"I haven't said that the troops will go there right now." He added coyly that"it's impossible to forecast a specific pattern of action –- it will depend on a concrete situation as it takes shape on the ground."
"We think this is, yes, the beginning of an invasion, Russia's latest invasion into Ukraine," said Jon Finer, principal deputy national security adviser, said on CNN."An invasion is an invasion, and that is what is underway." Western leaders have long warned Moscow would look for cover to invade — and just such a pretext appeared to come Monday, when Putin recognized as independent two separatist regions in eastern Ukraine, where government troops have fought Russia-backed rebels. The Kremlin then raised the stakes further Tuesday, by saying that recognition extends even to the large parts now held by Ukrainian forces.
"Russian troops have entered in Donbas," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in Paris."We consider Donbas part of Ukraine." The Kremlin hasn't confirmed any troop deployments to the rebel east, saying it will depend on the security situation. Vladislav Brig, a member of the separatist local council in Donetsk, told reporters the Russian troops already had moved in, but more senior rebel leaders didn't confirm that. Late Monday, convoys of armored vehicles were seen rolling across the separatist-controlled territories. It wasn't immediately clear if they were Russian.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the U.K. would slap sanctions on five Russian banks and three wealthy individuals. He warned a full-scale offensive would bring"further powerful sanctions." The Russian Foreign Ministry said Tuesday it will evacuate its diplomatic personnel from Ukraine"in the nearest time," pointing to attacks on diplomatic buildings, cars and physical threats against diplomats in the Ukrainian cities of Kyiv, Odesa, Lviv and Kharkiv.Karmanau reported from Kyiv, Ukraine, and Madhani from Washington.
Demonstrators holding a huge Ukrainian flag march along the street in Odessa, Ukraine, Sunday, Feb. 20, 2022. Thousands of people in Odessa marched through the streets of the city in a show of unity on Sunday, marking the date on which, eight years ago, more than a hundred people were killed during Ukraine's Maidan revolution.
Anastasia Manha, 23, lulls her 2 month-old son Mykyta, where she lives with her family members, after alleged shelling by separatists forces in Novognativka, eastern Ukraine, Sunday, Feb. 20, 2022. Russia is extending military drills near Ukraine's northern borders after two days of sustained shelling along the contact line between Ukrainian soldiers and Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.
People from the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, the territory controlled by a pro-Russia separatist governments in eastern Ukraine, walk from a train to be taken to temporary residences in the Volgograd region, at the railway station in Volzhsky, Volgograd region, Russia, on Sunday, Feb. 20, 2022.
FILE - Russia's security council secretary Nikolai Patrushev delivers his speech at the IX Moscow conference on international security in Moscow, Russia, on June 24, 2021. With all eyes on a possible Russia invasion of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin is sending his top security envoy to the Balkans where Moscow has been trying to maintain influence mainly through its ally Serbia.
A schoolgirl runs in Ukraine's village of Dobryanka close to the Belarus border, Monday, Feb. 21, 2022. A Ukrainian border guard officer watches as a police dog sniffs a truck at the Ukrainian-Belarusian state border checkpoint Novi Yarylovychi, Ukraine, Monday, Feb.21, 2022. Displaced civilians from the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, the territory controlled by pro-Russia separatist governments in eastern Ukraine, rest in a sport hall in Taganrog, Russia, Monday, Feb. 21, 2022. World leaders are making another diplomatic push in hopes of preventing a Russian invasion of Ukraine, even as heavy shelling continues in Ukraine's east.
A boy plays with a weapon as an instructor shows a Kalashnikov assault rifle while training members of a Ukrainian far-right group train, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, Feb. 20, 2022. Russia extended military drills near Ukraine's northern borders Sunday amid increased fears that two days of sustained shelling along the contact line between soldiers and Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine could spark an invasion.
A Ukrainian service member listens to artillery shots standing in a trench on a position at the line of separation between Ukraine-held territory and rebel-held territory near Zolote, Ukraine, late Saturday, Feb. 19, 2022. A Ukrainian serviceman pauses while walking to a frontline position outside Popasna, in the Luhansk region, eastern Ukraine, Sunday, Feb. 20, 2022. Russia extended military drills near Ukraine's northern borders Sunday amid increased fears that two days of sustained shelling along the contact line between soldiers and Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine could spark an invasion. Ukraine's president appealed for a cease-fire.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba speaks during a media conference on the sidelines of a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels, Monday, Feb. 21, 2022. The European Union's top diplomat, foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, welcomed the prospect of a summit but said that should diplomacy fail the 27-nation has finalized its package of sanctions for use if Putin orders an invasion.
Russian President Vladimir Putin talks via videoconference with members of the Russian Paralympic Committee team on the eve of the XIII Paralympic Winter Games in Beijing, in Moscow, Russia, Monday, Feb. 21, 2022. Ukrainian border guard officers patrol the Ukrainian-Belarusian state border at a checkpoint in Novi Yarylovychi, Ukraine, Monday, Feb.21, 2022.
A woman and her child from the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, the territory controlled by pro-Russia separatist governments in eastern Ukraine, waves from a train on their way to temporary shelter in another region of Russia, at the railway station in Taganrog, Russia, Monday, Feb. 21, 2022. World leaders are making another diplomatic push in hopes of preventing a Russian invasion of Ukraine, even as heavy shelling continues in Ukraine's east.
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