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
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has told the nation that Ukraine is “not afraid of anyone or anything”.
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.
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.
06:00
Putin recognises 2 separatist regions in Ukraine, dulling hopes for US-Russia summit
As news of the late-night recognition hit the streets of Kyiv, many were in disbelief but ready to defend their country if called on.
“I am very shocked,” Artem Ivaschenko, a 22-year-old cook originally from Donetsk, told AFP in the capital, calling the recognition the “scariest news” since he had fled the region eight years ago.
“I live here, I already lost a part of my homeland, it was taken away, so I will protect it.”
US orders personnel out of Ukraine for ‘security reasons’
Zelensky convened a meeting of his national security council and had telephone calls with several world leaders in a bid to shore up support.
“We expect clear support steps and effective support steps from our partners,” he declared in his late night televised address.
“It is very important to see now who is our true friend and partner, and who will continue to scare the Russian Federation with words,” he said.
“We are on our own land.”
The US announced sanctions, with the White House saying Biden will issue an executive order to “prohibit new investment, trade, and financing by US persons to, from, or in” the two rebel regions.
A French presidential official said the European Union was preparing a list of Russian entities and individuals to sanction in a “proportionate” response to the recognition.
Earlier, in an often angry 65-minute televised national address from his Kremlin office, Putin railed against his neighbour Ukraine as a failed state and “puppet” of the West, repeatedly suggesting it was essentially part of Russia.
‘Blatant attempt to rewrite rules’: Europe talks tough on China, Russia
He accused the authorities in Kyiv of persecuting Russian speakers and of preparing a “blitzkrieg” against the breakaway regions of Donetsk and Lugansk in Ukraine’s east.
“As for those who seized and hold power in Kyiv, we demand an immediate end to their operations,” Putin said.
“Otherwise, all responsibility for the possible continuation of bloodshed will be fully on the conscience of the regime in power in Ukraine.”
Western leaders warned that Russia was planning to invade its pro-Western neighbour after massing more than 150,000 troops on its borders, a claim Moscow repeatedly denied.
Tensions then spiked in recent days after an outbreak of heavy shellfire on Ukraine’s eastern frontline with the separatists and a series of reported incidents on the border with Russia.
Monitors from the OSCE European security body on Monday reported more than 3,000 new ceasefire violations in east Ukraine the day before, a high for the year.
Ukrainian officials said two soldiers and a civilian died in more shelling of frontline villages Monday.
Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, Business Insider
