Ukraine’s president says ‘we are not afraid’ after Russia’s Putin orders troops to rebel regions

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky gives 2am televised address on country’s security situation

The speech came after Russia recognised breakaway territories in Ukraine and ordered in troops

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a visit to the front line not far from pro-Russian militants controlled city of Donetsk, Ukraine, on February 17. Photo: EPA

Published: 10:58am, 22 Feb 2022Updated: 1:40pm, 9 Mar 2022

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has told the nation that Ukraine is “not afraid of anyone or anything”.

Zelensky spoke during a chaotic day after Russia’s President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian troops into two Moscow-backed rebel regions of Ukraine on Monday, defying Western threats of sanctions in a move that could set off a potentially catastrophic war with Kyiv.

Zelensky said in a televised address at 2am Tuesday local time that Russia’s actions were a violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.

Earlier, Putin recognised the independence of two rebel-held areas of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions of Ukraine, paving the way for an operation to deploy part of the potential invasion force he has massed around the country.

In two official decrees, Putin instructed the defence ministry to assume “the function of peacekeeping” in the separatist-held regions.

The recognition of the breakaway republics, which form an enclave held by Russia-backed rebels since 2014, triggered international condemnation and a promise of targeted sanctions from the United States and the European Union – with a broader package of economic punishment to come in the event of invasion.