Russia-Ukraine live updates: U.S. prepares fresh sanctions on Kremlin as escalation is blasted at U.N.

The Donbas region in eastern Ukraine has been a flash point in the escalating crisis between Russia and Ukraine, which hinges on land borders and strategic influence.

The region became even more critical Monday as Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized the independence of two Moscow-backed breakaway enclaves there that call themselves the Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic. Russian leaders also issued decrees directing military troops to the area for peacekeeping purposes. The formal recognition marks a considerable escalation that signals an end to the seven-year peace deal known as the Minsk agreement. This recognition could also be seen as one which gives the Russian leader an excuse to invade Ukraine.

The formal recognition prompted a chorus of condemnation from Western leaders, with some announcing sanctions, holding emergency meetings and roundly accusing Moscow for breaching international law.

President Biden signed an executive order Monday blocking trade and investment by Americans in two separatist enclaves of Ukraine after Moscow recognized the breakaway regions’ independence and announced that it was sending troops to the area for “peacekeeping” purposes.

Administration officials said additional measures — including more sanctions — would be announced Tuesday, though these would be separate from the strict measures promised if Moscow further invades Ukraine.

Britain is also preparing new sanctions. Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom will meet Tuesday morning with an emergency committee to discuss measures. Officials from Downing Street described them as significant. London also said it would “explore sending further defensive support to Ukraine, at the request of the Ukrainian Government.”

A White House statement said President Vladimir Putin’s Monday maneuver “contradicts Russia’s commitments under the Minsk agreements, refutes Russia’s claimed commitment to diplomacy, and undermines Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

The Donbas region in eastern Ukraine has been a flash point in the crisis. Putin’s decision to recognize the two enclaves — where Moscow has backed rebel forces since 2014 — is a considerable escalation that Putin could use to justify an attack in those locations.

Biden’s order prohibits “new investment” by Americans, wherever they are located, into the separatist regions that call themselves the Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic.

It also bars the “importation into the United States, directly or indirectly, of any goods, services, or technology from the covered regions.”

Foreign policy experts say the curbs probably won’t be sufficient on their own to deter Putin from further military action, but they were a way to buy time for the United States and its allies to take the next step.

“It’s weak symbolism. It’s not strong enough,” said Daniel Fried, a sanctions expert at the Atlantic Council and a former U.S. ambassador to Poland. “I think they’re going to go beyond it. I think they have to.”

The White House said Monday that the executive order is “distinct from the swift and severe economic measures we are prepared to issue with Allies and partners in response to a further Russian invasion of Ukraine,” adding that the administration is “continuing to closely consult with Ukraine and with Allies and partners on next steps and urge Russia to immediately deescalate.”

Fried said he doesn’t expect any measures announced Tuesday to go as far as cutting off a key gas pipeline between Russia and Germany — which would risk “burning up a lot of political capital” with Berlin.

Germany has promised an “absolutely united” front with the U.S. and other NATO allies, but Chancellor Olaf Scholz has stopped short of publicly promising to halt the $11 billion Nord Stream 2 project. Fried said more plausible measures were those that target Russia’s financial sector, such as “going after one of the larger of the big [Russian] banks.”

Russia faced a sharp rebuke from several members of the U.N. Security Council on Monday as nations from Europe, Africa and North America criticized the Kremlin for recognizing breakaway regions of Ukraine and sending troops it characterizes as “peacekeepers.”

Criticism from countries during the evening emergency session appeared to irritate Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzya, who accused the Security Council in aggregate for misunderstanding the conflict. “Most of you did not find any place for the nearly 4 million residents of Donbas,” he said, referring to a region of eastern Ukraine that includes the separatist-controlled territories of Donetsk and Luhansk.

Ukraine’s ambassador to the United Nations, who requested the meeting, offered a defiant statement even as his country was surrounded by more than 150,000 Russian troops. We are here. We don’t fear anyone or anything. Sergiy Kyslytsya stated that we owe no one and will never give anything away to anybody. “There should be no doubt whatsoever.”

Some African nations, including Kenya and Ghana, criticized the Russian activity and compared it to colonial aggression from centuries past.

The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, also said Russia’s aggression belonged to another era. She stated that Putin wants to take the world back to an era before the United Nations, when the empires controlled the planet. “Colleagues, President Putin is testing our international system.”

Representatives from Britain, France, Ireland and Norway issued blistering charges against Moscow, saying the Kremlin’s moves violated international law.

“The actions Russia has chosen today will have severe and far-reaching consequences,” said Barbara Woodward, Britain’s U.N. ambassador. Along with the United States she promised “severe economic sanctions” against Russia.

China and India took largely neutral positions, calling on both sides to listen to each other and act with restraint.

European officials said Tuesday that Russian forces had arrived in the breakaway territories of eastern Ukraine that Moscow on Monday formally recognized as independent.

“Russian troops have entered in Donbas. Josep Borrell (EU foreign policy chief) said that Donbas is part of Ukraine. He said, “I would not say that [it is] is a full-fledged invasion. But Russian troops are currently on Ukrainian soil.” According to him, the E.U. In response to Moscow’s recent moves, he said that the E.U. would take a decision regarding sanctions Tuesday.

Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak also said in a radio interview Tuesday he could confirm that Russian forces entered the territories, describing it as a violation of Ukraine’s borders and international law.

After recognizing the two pro-Russian separatist enclaves in the Donbas region, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered forces into the territories for “peacekeeping” purposes, dramatically escalating a crisis that has put Europe on the brink of war.

The Kremlin has in the past denied putting troops in the disputed territories, though Ukrainian, European and American officials have previously documented their presence there.

China did not explicitly endorse Moscow’s latest moves toward Ukraine but still recognized what it called Russia’s legitimate security concerns, in Beijing’s latest tightrope act over the crisis in Eastern Europe.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday called on all parties involved to “exercise restraint” and resolve the crisis through negotiation, in a phone conversation with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. However, he still referred to security concerns of countries, in a reference to Russia’s statements on Ukraine.

Speaking at an emergency U.N. meeting Monday night, Zhang Jun, China’s representative to the United Nations, urged all parties to “seek reasonable solutions” and address each country’s concerns based on “equality and mutual respect.”

The comments from top Chinese diplomats — coming after Russia’s commitment to deploy troops to the breakaway Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, which Putin recognized as independent — underline Beijing’s conflicted position as the Ukraine crisis unfolds against the backdrop of warming ties with Moscow.

Beijing has long said that noninterference and respect for territorial integrity form the core of its foreign policy, principles of international law that China often cites when pushing back against criticism of its measures to exert more control in Hong Kong, Tibet or Xinjiang — or its claims to the self-governed democracy of Taiwan.

For China to support a Russian invasion of Ukraine would harm already deteriorating ties with Western nations, but Beijing is also eager to bolster its burgeoning relationship with Moscow to counter what China sees as U.S. efforts to suppress its rise as a global power.

At the start of the Winter Olympics in China, the two nations signed a joint statement pledging a strategic relationship of “no limits.” As the Ukraine crisis has escalated just after the close of the Winter Games, Beijing has joined Moscow in repeatedly criticizing the United States and NATO for provoking what it says are Russia’s “legitimate” security concerns.

Still, over the weekend, Wang, the foreign minister, said the “sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of any country should be respected and safeguarded,” adding, “Ukraine is no exception.”

He is the man with the very long table who seats world leaders and ministers at an almost comical distance. He is a lone figure in a dark coat laying a wreath at a cemetery in St. Petersburg or sitting solo in his Olympic viewing booth in Beijing. His age is increasing, he’s more isolated than ever and he could be waging an unstoppable war.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, in the 22 years since he first took office, has evolved from an afterthought of Washington leaders to the world’s most watched and pleaded-with man, using reconstituted Russian military might to force the globe to reckon with his interests after having complained for years about being ignored.

His latest belligerence follows two years of pandemic isolation and eight years of Western sanctions that analysts say have fed the bunker mentality Putin has exhibited since his earliest years.

TOKYO — Japan stands ready with its Western allies to impose sanctions on Russia in case of a renewed invasion of Ukraine, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Tuesday.

Kishida declined to specify which sanctions are under consideration, but Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper reported Tuesday that the country is weighing an export ban that includes semiconductors, artificial intelligence and robot technology, in addition to restrictions on Russian banks.

The sanctions would be more wide-ranging than those Tokyo imposed in 2014 in response to Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region, though they would be largely symbolic as Japanese exports of such tech products are limited.

The United States and European countries have vowed to issue fresh economic sanctions in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s dramatic escalation of the Ukraine crisis Monday, when he recognized the independence of two Moscow-backed separatist regions in eastern Ukraine and ordered in Russian “peacekeeping” forces.

Kishida said Tuesday that Japan “strongly condemns” Russia’s actions, calling them a “violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

“We will warily watch over the developing situation and will work with G-7 and the international community to arrange a response, including sanctions,” he said.

Kishida plans to attend Thursday’s virtual meeting of leaders of the Group of Seven nations to discuss the Ukraine crisis, and he has called for a diplomatic solution. Japan has repeatedly asked the roughly 120 Japanese nationals in Ukraine to evacuate the country.

Global stock markets fell sharply after Russia said it would formally recognize two breakaway regions of Ukraine and ordered its troops into them for so-called peacekeeping purposes, while the prices of oil and safe-haven assets such as gold rose.

In Asia, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific equities, excluding Japan, was down 2 percent as of midday local time Tuesday, on the back of falls in Hong Kong and mainland China. Japan’s Nikkei Index was down by a similar amount.

U.S. markets were shut Monday for a holiday, but S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures fell Tuesday morning in Asia, while the Russian ruble briefly touched an 18-month low against the U.S. dollar. Brent crude oil futures reached a seven year high while gold traded at its highest point in several months.

Markets often shrug off major geopolitical conflicts, but investors have been keeping a wary eye on the standoff given Russia’s role as one of the world’s biggest energy producers.

Vice President Harris warned Sunday that Americans could see their energy costs rise if Russia invades Ukraine. Russia is one of the largest exporters of oil to the United States, according to government data.

Administration officials said the United States is likely to announce additional measures — including sanctions — against Russia Tuesday after President Biden signed an executive order Monday halting investment and trade by Americans into rebel-held areas of eastern Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, after recognizing two Russian-backed separatist regions in Ukraine as independent, ordered Russian forces into the territories for “peacekeeping” purposes, dramatically escalating a crisis that has put Europe on the brink of a full-fledged war.

In two Russian presidential orders published by the state news agency RIA Novosti, Putin ordered the Russian Defense Ministry to ensure the deployment of the Russian military into the Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic for the purposes of “supporting peace.” Troops have been amassing near the Ukrainian border for weeks.

Putin approved the agreements for 10 years, according to the full document published by RIA Novosti, allowing Russia to build military bases in Donetsk and Luhansk and jointly patrol their borders with Ukraine.

Despite fueling a war in the regions since 2014, the Kremlin has long denied that regular Russian forces are aiding the separatist fighters, though their presence has been documented by the Ukrainian and U.S. governments for many years.

The decision to openly deploy Russian forces into the territories — which have seen a significant rise in violence in recent days — further raises the risk of a full-scale war in Ukraine. The Kremlin could use this incident to justify a wider invasion of Ukraine.