Russian tanks and armored vehicles rolled into Ukraine on three fronts in a large-scale invasion that began early this morning. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky declared martial law and called for Ukrainians with battle experience to take up arms to defend the country (Financial Times)
Ukraine said more than forty soldiers and up to ten civilians have been killed so far, and at least six Russian planes and one helicopter had been shot down during the ongoing invasion (CNN)
U.S. President Joe Biden said “the world will hold Russia accountable” and announced new sanctions today, which could target four of Russia’s largest banks, its oil and gas industry, and U.S. technology exports to the country (NPR).European Union leaders also announced new sanctions, pledging they would be “the harshest package of sanctions we have ever implemented” (Reuters)
U.S. troops in Poland are preparing to receive Ukrainian refugees (New York Times)
Australia, Canada, and Japan Join Countries Sanctioning Russia Over Ukraine
The three countries joined the United States, European Union, and United Kingdom in announcing sanctions against Russia after it sent troops to two Ukrainian regions and recognized them as independent states (The Hill)
U.S. President Joe Biden called Russia’s actions the beginning of an invasion of Ukraine and warned of harsher penalties if Moscow escalates (New York Times)
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken canceled a meeting planned for tomorrow with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, but said the United States would continue to pursue diplomacy if Russia de-escalates (New York Times)
Meanwhile, Ukraine announced a nationwide emergency and called on its citizens to leave Russia and military reservists to report for active duty (Associated Press)
World Responds After Putin Orders Troops to Breakaway Ukrainian Regions
Germany suspended the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline amid a raft of international responses to Russian President Vladimir Putin ordering troops to separatist regions in eastern Ukraine (Associated Press)
In a speech yesterday, Putin recognized the independence of the self-declared republics of Donetsk and Luhansk and challenged Ukraine’s nationhood (Moscow Times)
Separately, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Putin’s order violates Ukraine’s sovereignty, and the UN Security Council held an emergency meeting last night. The United States announced new sanctions on Donetsk and Luhansk and said more will follow; European Union (EU) leaders are also preparing sanctions (New York Times)
United States Says Russian President Vladimir Putin Has Decided to Invade Ukraine
U.S. President Joe Biden said he is now convinced that Russian President Vladimir Putin has made the decision to invade Ukraine; the announcement came after reports of increased shelling in eastern Ukraine (CNN)
Biden to Conference with NATO Allies on Ukraine
U.S. President Joe Biden will hold a call with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies to discuss soaring tensions in Eastern Ukraine. The Ukrainian government and pro-Russia rebels reported a second straight day of increased shelling in the region (New York Times, Reuters)
Meanwhile, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris is in Germany, where she will meet with European leaders at the kickoff of the Munich Security Conference (NPR)
The United States warned the UN Security Council yesterday that Russia is allegedly planning a full-scale attack on Ukraine (State Department)
The U.S. envoy to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said Russia has up to 190,000 troops stationed in and around Ukraine (Guardian)
Ukrainian Forces and Pro-Russia Separatists Trade Accusations of Shelling in Eastern Ukraine
Ukrainian forces and Pro-Russia separatists accused each other of opening fire as shelling broke out in eastern Ukraine (New York Times)
Meanwhile, an unnamed senior official said that Russia had sent seven thousand more troops to areas around Ukraine rather than drawing down troops as promised (New York Times)
Separately, Russia expelled the deputy chief of mission at the U.S. embassy in Moscow (ABC News)
United States Warns Russia Against Attacking Ukraine
During remarks at the White House, U.S. President Joe Biden pledged to give diplomacy every chance to prevent a Russian invasion of Ukraine and warned Russia against starting a war of choice (White House)
Meanwhile, Ukraine suggested Russia was behind a cyberattack affecting the Ukranian army, defense ministry, and major banks; Moscow denied responsibility (Reuters)
Russia Announces Partial Troop Withdrawal from Ukrainian Border
Russia’s military announced that some troops will return to their bases after completing drills near Ukraine, even as more than thirty ships carry out a live-fire exercise in the Black Sea; Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow was ready for security talks with the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) (Associated Press)
Western Leaders Launch Diplomatic Push to Avert Russian Invasion
U.S. President Joe Biden spoke with the leaders of Ukraine and Russia after announcing that Moscow could invade Ukraine at any moment (CNN)
Prior to scheduled talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz traveled to Kyiv for a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (DW)
Many western countries, including the United States and Australia, began evacuating embassy staff (Reuters)
Meanwhile, finance ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) countries warned that any further Russian military action against Ukraine will be met with “massive and immediate” consequences for Russia’s economy (HM Treasury)
Diplomatic Talks Between France, Germany, Russia, and Ukraine End Without Resolution
Diplomats from France, Germany, Russia, and Ukraine ended talks after nine hours, without a joint resolution, on the conflict between Moscow and Kyiv in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region (Bloomberg)
Separately, President Joe Biden told U.S. citizens to leave Ukraine, warning that the United States is not planning a military operation to evacuate its citizens should Russia invade (NPR)
Diplomats From France, Germany, Russia, and Ukraine Meet in Berlin to Discuss Ukraine Crisis
Representatives of France, Germany, Russia, and Ukraine—a grouping known as the Normandy Format—met in Berlin to mediate Russia-Ukraine tensions (TASS)
Separately, the European Union delivered its foreign ministers’ joint response to Moscow’s demands for security guarantees (Reuters)
Meanwhile, Ukraine launched its own war games and denounced the joint military exercise held between Russia and Belarus (Reuters)
Putin Announces Plan to Annex Four Ukrainian Regions
Russian President Vladimir Putin will sign a decree to annex the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia tomorrow, a Kremlin spokesperson said; the regions compose some 15 percent of Ukrainian territory. (FT)
This major escalation in the war in Ukraine comes after Moscow orchestrated votes, widely denounced as a sham, for the regions to join Russia (Reuters)
Russia’s annexation will be the largest forceful takeover of European territory since World War II (NYT). The United States and European Union plan to impose new sanctions over the annexation (WSJ)
Yesterday, military leaders from over forty countries met in Brussels to plan long-term military support for Ukraine (NYT)
Russian Military Commanders Fly to Belarus for Joint Military Exercise
Top Russian military commanders flew to Belarus today ahead of a ten-day joint training exercise (Washington Post)
French President Emmanuel Macron Travels to Kyiv, Ukraine
French President Emmanuel Macron continued his shuttle diplomacy, traveling to Kyiv to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky after speaking with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow yesterday (Financial Times)
Meanwhile, U.S. After meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz yesterday, President Joe Biden said the United States “will bring an end” to the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline if Russia invades Ukraine (Associated Press)
Leaders from France and Russia, Germany and the United States Meet Respectively to Discuss Ukraine Crisis
French President Emmanuel Macron met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, while German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited U.S. President Joe Biden in Washington; both sets of talks reportedly weighed possible avenues to avoid war in Ukraine (Washington Post)
Separately, the United States said Russia has amassed 75 percent of the troops it would need to invade Ukraine (National Public Radio)
New satellite imagery reportedly shows that tanks, artillery, armored vehicles, and other hardware were moved closer to the Ukrainian border from a Russian military base (CNN)
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping Announce Joint Opposition to NATO Expansion
Russian President Vladimir Putin traveled to Beijing, where he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping to jointly announce their opposition to North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) expansion (New York Times)
Meanwhile, the United States said Russia was planning a staged attack to justify an invasion of Ukraine (NPR); Russia criticized the accusation, calling it “nonsense” (Moscow Times)
Separately, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey agreed to provide additional weapons and supplies to Ukraine, including one of the Ukrainian military’s most sophisticated weapons—a long-range, Turkish-made armed drone (New York Times)
Russia Sends Thirty Thousand Troops to Belarus
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg accused Russia of sending thirty thousand troops to Belarus in recent days (Radio Free Europe)
Meanwhile, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan traveled to Kyiv, offering to mediate between Ukraine and Russia (Guardian)
United States Approves Troop Deployment to Eastern Europe
President Biden approved the deployment of 3,000 troops to NATO member states in Eastern Europe, including Poland and Romania (New York Times)
Separately, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced the country is seeking a trilateral security pact with Poland and the United Kingdom (Reuters)
Russian President Blames United States for Ukraine Crisis, Expresses Hope for More Dialogue
During his first public remarks on Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin blamed the United States for the crisis but said he hoped for continued dialogue (New York Times)
Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke on the phone today following a verbal confrontation between their countries’ envoys at the UN Security Council yesterday (ABC)
Russia, United States Clash Over Ukraine at United Nations
Russia and the United States exchanged harsh words over Ukraine at a UN Security Council meeting after Russia lost an attempt to block the meeting (ABC)
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden met with the emir of Qatar to discuss boosting liquefied natural gas supplies to Europe in the event of a Russian invasion to cushion economic shocks in the energy market (Reuters)
France’s Macron Speaks With Russian, Ukrainian Leaders Amid Crisis
French President Emmanuel Macron held a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin today and will speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky this evening about the possibility of diplomacy to ease tensions on the Russia-Ukraine border (France24)
Before the call with Putin, France’s foreign minister said that Paris aimed to assess whether Moscow wants “confrontation or consultation” (Reuters)
Meanwhile, Zelensky and U.S. President Joe Biden spoke in a call yesterday that a Ukrainian official described as “long and frank” (CNN)
Additionally, U.S. State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said that if Russia invades Ukraine, the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline “will not move forward” (NPR)
United States, NATO Send Written Response to Russia’s Demands
The United States and NATO responded to Russia’s demands in writing, and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington maintained its refusal to guarantee that Ukraine would never join NATO (New York Times)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that while there was “no positive response” from the United States regarding Russia’s demand that Ukraine never join NATO, he said that the reply yielded “hope for the start of a serious conversation” on other issues (Moscow Times)
Meanwhile, French, German, Russian, and Ukrainian officials agreed yesterday to uphold a 2014 cease-fire agreement in eastern Ukraine (Agence France Presse/Deutsche-Welle)
U.S. Places 8,500 Troops on High Alert For Possible Deployment to Eastern Europe
The United States announced yesterday it had placed 8,500 troops on high alert to potentially deploy to Eastern Europe, but a final decision has not yet been made (CNN)
Today, Russia conducted large-scale military drills near Ukraine and in annexed Crimea (Agence France-Presse)
NATO Puts Forces on Standby as European Officials Hold Crisis Talks
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) said its member countries are putting military forces on standby and sending extra ships and warplanes to Eastern Europe amid fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine (Reuters)
Foreign ministers from the European Union (EU) are meeting in Brussels today for crisis talks, with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken participating virtually (Bloomberg)
Meanwhile, the EU announced a $1.3 billion financial aid package for Ukraine today (Deutsche-Welle)
A Russian government spokesperson accused the United States and NATO of escalating tensions with the new deployments (Agence-France Presse)
Meanwhile, the United States and United Kingdom said some of their diplomatic staff will withdraw from Ukraine (BBC)
Blinken, Lavrov Hold ‘Frank and Substantive’ Talks in Geneva
The United States and Russia weighed possible negotiated outcomes to security tensions in Eastern Europe during talks in Geneva today between U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (New York Times)
Meanwhile, Lavrov told reporters Russia has “no plans” to attack Ukraine, Ukraine’s military intelligence said that Russia is increasing arms shipments to separatist-controlled areas of Ukraine’s east (Agence France-Presse)
U.S. President Joe Biden said that if “any assembled Russian units move across the Ukrainian border,” it will trigger a severe economic response (Bloomberg)