Russia-Ukraine Conflict: The Last 24 Hours

There has been significant movement on multiple fronts in regard to the impending war in Ukraine in the last 24 hours.

1600 Daily has condensed and contextualized the events for readers below.

Russia Legitimizes Separatist Territories:  Hours after signing decrees recognizing the independence of two separatist-held territories in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian military troops into the area on what he called a “peacekeeping” mission. While hesitant to say so publicly, for many countries this move represented the official beginning of the invasion and a cascade of condemnations followed.

Putin Erases Minsk Agreement: The agreement was signed in 2015 as an end to the bloody conflict in eastern Ukraine where separatists had taken control. However, it was never fully implemented and ceasefire violations were frequently reported. Still, it ended the worst fighting at the time. After signing the decrees Putin declared, “Of course, the Minsk agreements no longer exist. What is there to implement if we have recognized these two entities?”

Russia’s Government Authorizes Use of Armed Forces: Russia’s Federation Council, the upper chamber of its parliament, unanimously a resolution to give Putin use of the Russian armed forces outside the country in connection with the situation in the Donbas. Putin declined to give a specific timeline for the deployment of troops when asked. “It’s impossible to predict any specific outline of possible actions at all, it depends on the specific situation that is developing on the spot, on the ground what is called,” he said. Shortly after the resolution passed, Russia recalled its diplomatic staff from the embassy in Ukraine.

Global Sanctions Take Shape: Germany became the first country to make significant moves against Russia by suspending certification of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. The US, UK, Ukraine, and several other EU countries have objected to the pipeline since its proposal. Oil prices neared $100 a barrel and the market dropped upon the announcement. The Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council tweeted in response: “German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has issued an order to halt the process of certifying the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. Well. Welcome to the brave new world where Europeans are very soon going to pay €2.000 for 1.000 cubic meters of natural gas.”

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has unveiled the “first tranche” of British sanctions on Russia soon after. The UK will sanction five Russian banks and three “very high net worth” individuals. “We will continue to seek a diplomatic solution until the last possible moment,” Johnson said. “But we have to face the possibility that none of our messages has been heeded and that Putin is implacably determined to go further in subjugating and tormenting Ukraine.”

US President Joe Biden announced an initial series of sanctions Tuesday afternoon. Biden said in a statement, “As I said last week, defending freedom will have costs, for us as well and here at home. We need to be honest about that. But as we do this, I’m going to take robust action to make sure the pain of our sanctions is targeted at the Russian economy, not ours.” He detailed the sanctions as such:

• “We’re implementing full blocking sanctions on two large Russian financial institutions: VEB and their military bank.”
• “We’re implementing comprehensive sanctions on Russia’s sovereign debt. That means we’ve cut off Russia’s government from Western financing. It can no longer raise money from the West and can not trade in its new debt on our markets or European markets either.”
• “We’ll also impose sanctions on Russia’s elites and their family members. They share in the corrupt gains of the Kremlin policies and should share in the pain as well.”

The EU Commission also proposed sanctions for its member states. The proposals would sanction 27 persons and entities including political figures, propagandists, military personnel and financial entities who the EU deems to be linked to “illegal activities” in the regions. There would also be sanctions for the 351 Russian lawmakers who voted for the recognition and the 11 who proposed it – and the installation of Russian troops. Member states will now debate and vote on the proposals.

We will continue to update the list of action taken against Russia as the situation develops.