MOSCOW (AP) — Western leaders said Tuesday that Russian troops have moved into rebel-held areas in eastern Ukraine after President Vladimir Putin’s recognized their independence —…
By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV and YURAS KARMANAU
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia has recognized the rebel regions’ independence “in borders that existed when they proclaimed” their independence in 2014 — broad territories that extend far beyond the areas now under the rebel control and that include the major Black Sea port of Mariupol.
But in a distinction that is sure to complicate a European and Western response, he added: “I wouldn’t say that a fully fledged invasion, but Russian troops are on Ukrainian soil.”Poland’s Defense Ministry and British Health Secretary Sajid Javid also said Russian forces had entered Ukraine’s east. Javid went further, telling Sky News that “the invasion of Ukraine has begun.”
As European leaders scrambled to decide on their response, legislation that will likely set the stage for a deeper move into Ukrainian territory moved through Russia’s parliament. “The Kremlin recognized its own aggression against Ukraine,” Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said on Twitter, describing Moscow’s move as a “New Berlin Wall” and urging the West to quickly slap Russia with sanctions.
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