Ukraine's military says it has begun the partial call of up of reservists that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ordered Tuesday night.
Zelenskyy emphasized that this was not a full mobilisation yet, but of the"active reserve" troops with combat training. Zelenskyy said the call up was because Ukraine's military now needs to be at"heightened readiness for any changes" in the situation.
Speaking at the White House, Biden said the Kremlin had flagrantly violated international law in what he called the"beginning of a Russian invasion of Ukraine." He warned of more sanctions if Putin went further. The U.S., meanwhile, moved to cut off Russia's government from Western finance, sanctioning two of its banks and blocking it from trading in its debt on American and European markets. The administration's actions hit civilian leaders in Russia's leadership hierarchy and two Russian banks considered especially close to the Kremlin and Russia's military, with more than $80 billion in assets. That includes freezing all of those banks' assets under U.S. jurisdictions.
Shortly afterward, Putin laid out three conditions to end the crisis that has threatened to plunge Europe back into war, raising the specter of massive casualties, energy shortages across the continent and global economic chaos. With tensions rising and a broader conflict looking more likely, the White House began referring to the Russian deployments in the region known as the Donbas as an"invasion" after initially hesitating to use the term - a red line that Biden had said would result in severe sanctions.
Condemnation from around the world was quick. In Washington, lawmakers from both parties in Congress vowed continued U.S. support for Ukraine, even as some pushed for swifter and even more severe sanctions on Russia. Senators had been considering a sanctions package but held off as the White House pursued its strategy.
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