Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered troops into two breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine after announcing Monday evening that he would recognize their independence. The U.K. Health Minister Sajid Javid said Tuesday that “the invasion of Ukraine has begun.”
U.S. President Joe Biden, who will address the Russian troop movement Tuesday afternoon, has not yet used the word “invasion” to describe the current activity. Biden is expected to deliver an address about the crisis after 2 p.m. ET. See below for the latest updates as the world responds to Russia’s military escalation.
The upper house of Russia’s parliament has granted permission for the country’s military to be deployed abroad, following a request on Tuesday from President Vladimir Putin. The authorization grants Putin the right to use Russian forces abroad “in accordance with the principles and norms of international law,” the Senate’s resolution, released to the media, shows.
The document does not impose any specific limits on the use of the military, with the number of troops, as well as “the areas of their activity, their goals, and length of stay outside Russia” to be decided by the president “in accordance with the Constitution.”
The decision was taken after Russia recognized the breakaway Donetsk (DPR) and Lugansk (LPR) People’s Republics in eastern Ukraine. Later on Tuesday, Putin told journalists Moscow was ready to provide military support to the Donbass republics, if required.
The president was speaking in the Kremlin after holding talks with his Azerbaijani counterpart, Ilham Aliyev. “Yesterday we signed agreements with the DPR and LPR. They contain clauses that we will provide, among other things, military assistance … If necessary, we will fulfill our obligations,” he said.
Russia’s widespread cyberattacks are part of a technique to destabilize Ukraine before a possible invasion, according to U.S. government officials, who are bracing for possible cyberattacks in the United States. If Russia mounts cyberattacks against the United States, the targets could include banks, power plants, water treatment facilities, and communications.
Cyber experts say Russia has the capability to disable or destroy U.S. satellites. Those attacks could also impact GPS for navigation, farming, automation, and oil exploration. “Our food supply, things that have to do with our power supply, utilities,” cybersecurity expert Ian Marlow said. “Utilities have been brought down and then you don’t have service.” Marlow, the CEO of FitechGelb, a financial technology company, said there is no such thing as 100% protection against cyberattacks. However, measures can be taken.
Germany on Tuesday halted the Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea gas pipeline project, designed to double the flow of Russian gas direct to Germany after Russia formally recognized two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine. Europe’s most divisive energy project, worth $11 billion, was finished in September but has stood idle pending certification by Germany and the European Union.
The pipeline had been set to ease the pressure on European consumers facing record energy prices amid a wider post-pandemic cost of living crisis, and on governments that have already forked out billions to try to cushion the impact on consumers.
