Russia-Ukraine updates: Germany halts pipeline approval in major blow to Russia

(NEW YORK) — The United States continues to warn that Russia could invade Ukraine “any day” amid escalating tensions in the region, with President Joe Biden telling reporters Friday he’s “convinced” Russian President Vladimir Putin has decided to invade.

More diplomacy seemed possible, though, with Biden agreeing “in principle” Sunday to meet with Putin, as long as Russia didn’t invade. But the Kremlin on Monday said talk of a summit was “premature.”

In an address to the Russian public on Monday evening, Putin announced he is recognizing the independence of two Russia-backed separatist areas in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region: the self-proclaimed People’s Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk, or DNR and LNR.

The U.S. swiftly responded to Putin’s announcement with sanctions. The White House said Biden will issue an executive order banning “new investment, trade, and financing by U.S. persons to, from, or in the so-called DNR and LNR regions of Ukraine.” The order “will also provide authority to impose sanctions on any person determined to operate in those areas of Ukraine,” according to White House press secretary Jen Psaki, who said the U.S. “will also soon announce additional measures related to today’s blatant violation of Russia’s international commitments.”

While the U.S. says some 190,000 Russian troops and separatist forces are estimated to be massed near Ukraine’s borders, Russia has denied any plans to invade and reiterated its demands that the U.S. and NATO bar Ukraine from joining the military alliance.

Here’s how the news is developing Tuesday. All times Eastern:

Feb 22, 7:40 am
Germany halts approval of pipeline as part of sanctions against Russia

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced Tuesday that his country will halt its approval of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline connecting Germany to Russia, in response to Russia’s recognition of two separatist areas in eastern Ukraine and amid fear of further possible aggression.

“The situation today is fundamentally different,” Scholz said at a press conference in Berlin.

Scholz said he has asked Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action to take a step that blocks certification of the Nord Stream 2. That means the pipeline, which is already built, cannot go into operation for now.

The Nord Stream 2 linking Russia to Europe by circumventing Ukraine has been highly controversial, with Germany accused of allowing Russia to construct a geopolitical weapon enabling Moscow to pressure Europe using gas supplies. Last year, Ukraine and the United States were pushing to stop the project but Germany refused.

The decision to halt the pipeline’s certification serves as a major sanction against Russia amid growing fears of an invasion of neighboring Ukraine and immense pressure on Germany to act. Earlier Tuesday, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy called on Germany to include the Nord Stream 2 in Europe’s sanctions on Russia.

“At this stage, in addition to initial sanctions, it is now important to prevent further escalation and thus another catastrophe,” Scholz said. “That is what all our diplomatic efforts are aimed at.”

The move may amount to a huge blow to Russia, which has already stoked a gas crunch in Europe by having its state-owned energy company Gazprom deliver the bare minimum of gas despite severe shortages. Gazprom has continued to do that in recent weeks and could go further, and Germany is particularly vulnerable. During a press conference last week, Scholz repeatedly refused to explicitly say if he would be willing to halt the Nord Stream 2.

However, by suspending the pipeline’s certification, Germany dangles the possibility it could be resumed if Russia doesn’t make further aggressions against Ukraine. It’s unclear how Russia will respond to a continent that it knows is overly reliant on Russian energy.

Feb 22, 7:12 am
Ukraine doesn’t believe Russia will mount ‘large-scale’ invasion

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday he won’t introduce martial law for now because his government doesn’t believe that Russia will mount a “large-scale” invasion.

“We believe that there won’t be a war, a powerful one, against Ukraine and there won’t be a large-scale escalation from Russia,” Zelenskyy said during a joint press conference in Kyiv with his Estonian counterpart. “If there will be, we will impose martial law.”

Zelenskyy also revealed that he’s considering breaking off diplomatic relations with Russia over its recognition of two Russia-backed separatist areas in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region. He said a proposal to do so has been put forward by the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which he said he’s looking at it but has not yet made a decision.

The Ukrainian president also called for Western countries to impose sanctions fast against Russia, saying the situation is developing “very quickly” and that the “first steps” of Moscow’s aggression have already been made. Zelenskyy said sanctions should include fully stopping the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline connecting Russia to Germany.

“The reaction must as quick,” he noted. “Sanctions policy is more a powerful policy which can really have an effect on the probable escalation from Russia. Don’t wait for it to happen, because already the first steps of this aggression are done. We believe that legally the aggression has already been done.”

Feb 22, 7:01 am
Kremlin calls Western reaction ‘predictable’

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday that the reaction of Western countries to Russia’s recognition of two Russia-backed separatist areas in eastern Ukraine is “predictable.”

“As for the reaction, it was predictable, foreseeable,” Peskov told reporters during a daily call. “We will continue to work and to patiently put across our arguments.”

Peskov also claimed not to know anything about possible deployments of Russian “peacekeepers” into the areas overnight and made a comment that suggested the Kremlin may consider the legitimate territory of the separatists to include large parts of eastern Ukraine currently not in their control.

Separatists in the self-declared People’s Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk only hold about a third of the territory they claim in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region. The fear is Russia might now back those claims and use it as a pretext to make a larger land grab and destroy Ukrainian forces.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Peskov said the Kremlin recognizes the separatist areas “in those borders which they have declared for themselves, when these two republics were declared.”

But when asked to clarify, Peskov added: “In those borders, in which they exist and were declared. And were declared and exist.”

When pressed if that meant within the “present borders” of the separatist areas, Peskov refused to answer, saying he had nothing more to add.

Peskov also said that Russia’s recognition of the areas means the issue of the Minsk agreement is “now off the agenda.” He said any negotiations going forward will focus only on Russia’s demands for security guarantees that Ukraine not join NATO.

Peskov noted that the United States has not contacted the Kremlin since Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Monday his recognition of the two separatist areas as independent, but that Moscow was “open to diplomatic contacts.”

What happens next, he said, is “up to our opponents.”

Feb 22, 6:09 am
Russian parliament ratifies friendship treaty with separatists areas of eastern Ukraine

Russia’s parliament voted Tuesday to ratify a friendship treaty with two Russia-backed separatist areas in eastern Ukraine.

Lawmakers also added an amendment that brings the Treaty of Friendship into force immediately. The treaty includes a mutual defense pact, which establishes that Russian troops will jointly guard the borders of the self-proclaimed People’s Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk, in a breakaway region of eastern Ukraine known as Donbas.

Lawmakers were still discussing the decrees that Russian President Vladimir Putin signed on Monday night recognizing the two areas as independent. Both the upper and lower chambers of Russia’s parliament are expected to vote soon on whether to ratify the orders.

It remains unclear exactly what borders Russia will recognize for the areas. Separatist leaders of the self-declared People’s Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk want to control all of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in Donbas. But they currently only have about a third, with the rest controlled by Ukraine.

Some Russian officials have suggested Moscow may adopt the position that the separatist areas should include the entire Donetsk and Luhansk regions, thus raising fears that Russian troops will use force to expand the borders.

Feb 22, 5:49 am
Top Russian officials dismiss the West’s sanctions

Top Russian officials on Tuesday morning dismissed new sanctions being imposed by Western countries for Moscow’s recognition of the separatist areas in eastern Ukraine.

In an interview with state-owned television channel Russia-24, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the country was already “used to” sanctions and that more would be imposed regardless of what Moscow does.

“That our [Western] colleagues are trying to push the blame on Russia for the failure of the Minsk agreements, we also understand,” Lavrov said. “Our European, American, British colleagues won’t stop and won’t calm down as long as they haven’t exhausted their possibilities for the so-called punishment of Russia.”

“They already threaten all possible sanctions. Hellish, or as they say there, ‘the mother of all sanctions,'” he added. “Well, we’re used to this. The president already noted our position, we know that sanctions will be introduced all the same, in any case. With a basis, without a basis.”

Meanwhile, the speaker of Russia’s parliament, Vyacheslav Volodin, echoed Lavrov’s sentiments during an ongoing session of the lower house, known as the State Duma.

“Yes, sanctions hinder our development. But they would happen anyway. They would happen anyway even if that decision hadn’t been taken,” Volodin told lawmakers, adding that there are “more important problems.”

“Yesterday, our president stopped a war,” he said. “It’s not a question of territory — it’s a question of the lives of millions of citizens.”

Feb 22, 5:10 am
US embassy staff return to Ukraine after spending night in Poland

U.S. embassy staff who remained in Ukraine will return to the country on Tuesday after spending the night in Poland amid fears of a Russian invasion, a senior U.S. official told ABC News.

Personnel will return to the city of Lviv in western Ukraine, where they had relocated operations from the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. But they are poised to move back to Poland at any point, the official said.

Feb 22, 4:58 am
Russia-backed separatists claim Ukraine is still staging attacks

Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine have continued to accuse Ukrainian government forces of attacks.

The separatists in a breakaway region known as Donbas made another unverified claim Tuesday morning that three civilians were killed by a roadside bomb.

Separatist leaders posted photographs of a burned-out minivan on a road in their territory that they alleged was the vehicle blown up by a Ukrainian “diversionary group.” The claim is unverified and resembles other allegations that have been rapidly debunked.

Meanwhile, a top separatist military commander accused Ukrainian government forces of continuing to shell the area.

The latest claims raise the possibility that Russia is still building a pretext to launch an attack on Ukrainian government troops, even after recognizing the self-proclaimed People’s Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk as independent.

Feb 22, 4:33 am
‘World cannot be silent,’ Ukrainian defense minister warns

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov took to Twitter early Tuesday to dismiss Moscow’s recognition of the Russian-controlled breakaway areas in eastern Ukraine, saying the move amounts only to a recognition of the Kremlin’s “own aggression.”

“We remain confident and calm,” Reznikov tweeted. “We are ready and able to defend ourselves and our sovereignty.”

But he also issued a warning: “World cannot be silent.”

“Sanctions?” he tweeted. “Another brick in the wall? New Berlin Wall?”

Feb 22, 2:54 am
Putin’s recognition of separatists’ independence is ‘shameful act,’ Blinken says

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken early Tuesday called Russia’s move to recognize separatist regions in Ukraine as independent a “predictable” act.

“Russia’s move to recognize the ‘independence’ of so-called republics controlled by its own proxies is a predictable, shameful act,” he said on Twitter.

Blinken is scheduled to meet Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in Washington on Tuesday.

Feb 22, 2:03 am
Blinken speaks with Ukraine’s Kuleba ahead of Tuesday meeting

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke by phone on Monday with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, noting the Biden administration’s “swift response” to Russia’s decision to recognize Ukraine’s separatists’ regions as independent.

“They discussed the strong measures we announced today in response and reiterated that additional steps would be forthcoming,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement late Monday.

Blinken and Kuleba are scheduled to meet on Tuesday in Washington.

Kuleba earlier said he spoke with Blinken about sanctions.

“I underscored the need to impose tough sanctions on Russia in response to its illegal actions,” Kuleba said on Twitter.

Feb 21, 11:58 pm
Ukrainian envoy says UN is infected with ‘virus’ spread by Kremlin

After the Russian envoy spoke at the U.N. Security Council’s emergency meeting Tuesday night, Ukraine’s envoy began his remarks by saying he was afraid to take off his mask not because of COVID-19 but “because of the virus that has so far no vaccine — the virus that hates the United Nations and the virus that is spread by the Kremlin.”

That “virus” has infected the U.N. and threatens to kill it, Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya said in a stark warning.

“The United Nations is sick, that’s a matter of fact,” he said. “It’s been hit by the virus spread by the Kremlin. Will it succumb to this virus? It is in the hands of the membership.”

Kyslytsya warned it’s not just the U.N. that he believes is under threat. During his remarks, he held up a paper that had a copy of the Kremlin’s decree recognizing Russian-backed “breakaway” provinces from Georgia in 2008 and the decree issued Monday recognizing the separatist Donetsk and Luhansk, showing how they’re almost the exact same.

“Copy, paste. Copy, paste. No creativity whatsoever. The copying machine in the Kremlin works very well. Who is next among the members of the United Nations? The question is open,” he said.

Kyslytsya demanded that Russia “cancel” and remove “additional Russian occupation troops” in Ukrainian territory, and he insisted, “The internationally recognized borders of Ukraine have been and will remain unchangeable regardless of any statements and actions by the Russian Federation.”

“We are committed to a peaceful and diplomatic path, and we will stay firmly on it. We are on our land. We are not afraid of anything or anyone. We owe nothing to anyone, and we will not give away anything to anyone,” he said.

Feb 21, 11:48 pm
Ukraine highlights importance of global response to Russia

Ukraine called for “painful sanctions” against Russia in a statement released by its foreign ministry, noting that how the world responds may greatly influence Russia’s next move.

“Further decisions and steps of the Russian Federation largely depend on the world’s reaction to today’s events,” the statement read. “Therefore, we insist on imposing painful sanctions against Russia in order to send a clear signal of the inadmissibility of further escalation. It is time to act to end Russia’s aggression and restore peace and stability in Europe.”

The country reiterated that it is ready to defend itself, stating that it “understands Russia’s intentions and its desire to provoke Ukraine. We take into account all risks and do not succumb to provocations.”

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba is currently in Washington and meets with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday.

Feb 21, 11:21 pm
Russian envoy dismisses criticisms, blames Ukraine in Security Council meeting

In remarks during an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting Tuesday, Russian Ambassador Vasily Nebenzia dismissed “highly emotional” criticisms of Russia and said nothing has changed on the ground, while also blaming Ukraine for the decisions President Vladimir Putin’s decisions made earlier in the day.

Nebenzia dismissed “unfounded panic about an impending Russian invasion of Ukraine” — as Russian troops prepare to come across the border — and painted Russia as a pacifist hero that welcomed refugees who were forced onto buses by Russian-led separatists.

“We’ve just heard a number of highly emotional statements, categorical assessments, and far-reaching conclusions,” he said during the emergency meeting. “I’ll leave the direct verbal assaults against us unanswered. Now it’s important to focus on how to avoid war and how to force Ukraine to stop the shelling and provocations against Donetsk and Luhansk.”

Russian-controlled separatists are responsible for the shelling and for staging the provocations, but Nebenzia worked to portray Ukraine as the aggressor and Russia as the force preventing war, despite it essentially seizing Ukrainian territory.

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