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00:00Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree to send what he is describing as peacekeeping troops into the separatist regions of Luhansk and Donetsk.
00:09The decision comes after Putin recognised both regions as independent states and described Ukraine as ancient Russian territory.
00:17The move could mark a significant escalation amid fears Russia could soon launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine
00:24and its allies have requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to address the crisis.
00:31After a day of lashing out at NATO, Putin made an explosive announcement on state television.
00:38I think it is necessary to make a long overdue decision to immediately recognise the independence and sovereignty of the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic.
00:49With a few strokes of his pen, Russia's leader made a diplomatic solution to the Ukraine crisis seem even less likely.
01:00The decision could trigger massive consequences for his country.
01:03The EU's foreign policy chief had already said he was prepared to put a sanctions package to a vote in the European Council,
01:10if Russia were to recognise the breakaway regions.
01:13After a crisis meeting in Washington, the White House announced sanctions against new investment, trade and financing in the two separatist regions.
01:24UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson called Russia's decision a dark sign.
01:28In Luhansk, this is plainly in breach of international law.
01:34It's a flagrant violation of the sovereignty and integrity of Ukraine.
01:43It is a repudiation of the Minsk process and the Minsk agreements.
01:51And in Kiev, residents reacted with defiance to Putin's announcement.
01:55Why should Russia recognise it?
01:59If neighbours come to you and say this room will be ours, would you care about their opinion or not?
02:05It's your flat and it will always be your flat.
02:08Let them recognise whatever they want.
02:11But in my view, it can also provoke a war, because normal people will fight for their country.
02:16Let them recognise whatever they want, but we should not fall for it and react to this information.
02:25Let them do what they want, recognise someone, organise referendums, but we and the whole society don't recognise it and shouldn't recognise it.
02:33A day that had started with hopes of a summit in the near future between US President Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin,
02:44ended with a feeling that things are moving in the wrong direction.
02:49DW correspondent Nick Connolly is in Kiev for us.
02:52Vladimir Putin has ordered Russian soldiers to cross the border into Ukrainian territory.
02:57Nick, how is the Ukrainian government responding?
03:00Well, definitely, this is an escalation that has come very fast.
03:06As we just heard there, early on today, talk of new talks between foreign ministers,
03:12potentially a grand summit with Vladimir Putin, Macron and Biden.
03:16Now, within the space of a day, we have not only recognition of those self-proclaimed republics,
03:23but also that order now, before even that recognition has been legally processed through Russia's parliament to send those troops in.
03:33The Ukrainians would say that Russia's troops have been in Donetsk and Luhansk since 2014,
03:38albeit with unmarked uniforms operating under that guise of those self-proclaimed republics.
03:45Now they're coming in in Russian uniforms officially to mark that recognition from Moscow.
03:52Increasing worry here that given that the situation along the front lines between Ukrainian troops
03:57and those Russian-backed separatists and shelling and increasing deaths,
04:01that that could soon turn into a pretext for war.
04:05If Russia accuses Ukraine of shelling, of somehow causing damage to the civilian population,
04:11that could then soon see Russian troops crossing over into government-Ukraine-held territory.
04:18You've got a much bigger region of Luhansk than Donetsk,
04:21much of which is still controlled by the Ukrainian military and the Ukrainian authorities.
04:25So worry there that this is not the end, but just the first step in this escalation.
04:30And is that being discussed openly now, Nick?
04:32Does Ukraine believe this is likely to be a deployment within these existing boundaries
04:38of the two so-called separatist states?
04:40Or will this serve as a pretext for a broader escalation?
04:44I think right now it's a very brave analyst or pundit who will give you any conclusive answer to that question.
04:54I think it feels like all the answers, all the potential options are on the table.
04:59It was an extraordinary speech from Vladimir Putin, full of grievance and anger
05:04at what he said had happened to Russia not only since the end of the Soviet Union,
05:08but even under communist rule where he said basically Russia was stolen from,
05:13was robbed by the communists who gave territory and resources to the Ukrainians,
05:20to Belarusians, to all the other minorities in that Soviet state,
05:23and that basically Russia was robbed of its historic lands.
05:26And he talked about Ukraine being basically a made-up country
05:29that had squandered what it was given from the Soviet Union.
05:32On the other hand, he said that Ukraine was dangerous,
05:34that it could potentially produce nuclear weapons that would be a threat to Russia.
05:38So it was a rambling, pretty extraordinary speech
05:40that didn't seem to be aimed at convincing anyone outside Russia, certainly,
05:44but a sign of increasing frustration in the Kremlin
05:47and a desire to really try and roll back the order,
05:51the security order in Europe that has been in place since the end of the Cold War.
05:55Nick, you've relayed to us many times over the last month
05:57how the people in Ukraine were remaining calm as these tensions mounted.
06:02What now?
06:04I think definitely people living in Donbass, along those front lines,
06:10they've definitely seen an uptick in violence in the last few days,
06:13shelling on a scale that hasn't been seen since 2015.
06:16People have been left without electricity, without running water,
06:18and they're definitely now getting a lot more worried
06:21that that could now translate into those Russian troops
06:24that are coming into separate-held areas,
06:26coming also into government-held territory in the next few days.
06:30You hear on social media from people there getting very nervous.
06:32Here in Kyiv for now, I think it just all feels a bit unreal.
06:36People just can't really believe that this is true.
06:38I think most people up till now have been trying to convince themselves
06:40that this is just a game of diplomatic poker, that this is a bluff,
06:43and that in the end, this will all kind of basically go away
06:46without much change to their daily lives.
06:48But you've heard from people now, when you speak to them,
06:50that they are making preparations,
06:51people taking money out of banks, getting bags ready
06:54in case they need to go withdrawing cash.
06:56So definitely a sense that this crisis,
06:58after months of diplomatic recriminations and headlines,
07:02is now moving into a new phase.
07:04And Connolly in Kyiv, many thanks.
07:11And now let's get the US reaction
07:13from Oliver Salat in Washington, D.C.
07:15Oliver, what has been the response from the White House?
07:18Well, Anthony, President Biden just a little while ago
07:23got off the phone with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz
07:26and French President Emmanuel Macron,
07:28and the three of them issued a joint statement
07:30where they strongly condemn Putin's recognition
07:33of the separatist areas.
07:35Also, the Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken,
07:38vowed, announced some swift and firm response
07:42of the United States.
07:43And a first set of sanctions has already been announced.
07:47President Biden wants to sign an executive order
07:50banning US persons investing in companies
07:54in the Donbass region, so in those separatist areas.
07:59So US companies and persons are not allowed
08:01to invest there anymore.
08:04You know, essentially, the White House is saying
08:06this comes as they have anticipated,
08:10as President Biden anticipated,
08:12that Putin was looking for a pretext for war
08:15and that is now essentially moving in.
08:17And the concern is, of course,
08:19not only the situation in Ukraine,
08:22but also those numerous troops
08:25that are currently stationed in Belarus,
08:27a country that shares borders with three NATO allies.
08:30So this is not only about Ukraine,
08:32this is about the broader security architecture of Europe.
08:35It's a bold escalation from Putin,
08:38but one Moscow had seemingly been planning for.
08:41What does US intelligence expect now will happen next?
08:45Well, the big question certainly is how far Russian troops
08:52and how far Russia will go.
08:54So are we going to see Russians occupying the capital, Kiev,
08:59or are we just going to see troops
09:01going into the separatist areas?
09:04And President Biden, one of his press conferences
09:06a little while ago when he misspoke,
09:09already gave some idea on the possible outcome.
09:13So depending on the scale of the invasion,
09:16we will see either massive sanctions
09:18or sanctions that are not so drastic, so to speak.
09:23So we are looking at a range from cutting off Russia
09:26from the financial system, like SWIFT,
09:29that has been on the table.
09:31Of course, the infamous pipeline from Russia to Germany,
09:35Nord Stream 2, is on the table.
09:38And then, of course, targeting Putin
09:40and other senior administration officials directly,
09:43like the European Union has already announced.
09:45So that will certainly be a new level of sanctions
09:48that we haven't seen before.
09:50And it will be a blow to the Russian economy.
09:53However, it looks like Moscow is willing to pay that price.
09:57Oliver Sallett in Washington, D.C. Thank you.
10:02Well, European leaders are also preparing to take action.
10:05This is the latest from DW correspondent
10:07Christine Mhundwa in Brussels.
10:10An EU official has said that the recognition
10:13of the independence of Luhansk and Donetsk
10:18is just the first step that they are expecting.
10:21This EU official said that there would likely be more steps.
10:24And so what the European Union has decided to do
10:27is to wait out and to see what next steps are taken
10:30by the Kremlin before it reaches its conclusion
10:33about the exact kind of sanctions
10:35that it is going to impose on Moscow
10:38and on the separatists in the region.
10:42You can almost be guaranteed
10:44that it's going to be a difficult conversation
10:46because there are some EU member states
10:49who are calling for sanctions to be imposed immediately.
10:54They were calling for this even before this development.
10:57They would have wanted to see that
10:58in response to what we've already seen happen on the ground
11:03and the fact that people in Ukraine
11:04are already being impacted by it,
11:06especially on an economic level.
11:08There will be some EU member states
11:10who will perhaps push for the continuation of diplomacy
11:14and hence perhaps softer sanctions on this news.
11:18But again, it all depends on those next steps
11:21that the European Union is anticipating,
11:25what happens after this declaration of independence
11:28by the Russian President Vladimir Putin.
11:31And that will give a better indication
11:33as to the kind of response,
11:35the kind of sanctions that we will see.
11:37And perhaps if member states will come closer together
11:40on what is the severity that that reaction needs to be.
11:48throughout the province of Ukraine,
11:52you can focus on Keep-Find.
11:53You can see these other Kenny Robertsids
11:54and approach people up to our quasi-lander team
11:56somewhere on where the vocal team
11:57are sort of weak,
11:58so if they're there,
11:59somebody will continue to feel
12:00in order of the torch.
12:00And the力 that they areнуill is still
12:02or nobody will be able to share,
12:04or whatever would accomplish to it.
12:05We don't have to forget about it under the fence,
12:07like we're doing that.
12:08Imagine on this for a years later on
12:09the climb is Donald Trump.
12:11Admiral this cube,
12:11with the ley Thanks.
12:12…
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