Following Russia’s deployment of troops to separatist areas of Ukraine, in what President Vladimir Putin describes as a “peacekeeping” mission, the US is adopting a wait-and-see method. According to an AFP report, US officers have declined to describe Putin’s newest move as an invasion, insisting that talks are still a possibility.
US President Joe Biden has already imposed sanctions on 2 Russian-backed areas within the area of Donbass, in eastern Ukraine. However, the US has stopped wanting characterising the deployment of Russian troops to the region as an invasion. Doing so would set off extra sanctions, more severe in nature, towards Russia. According to the report, one senior US official has performed down the deployment, saying Russian forces have been positioned covertly in separatist areas of Ukraine for eight years.
“We are going to evaluate what Russia’s carried out. Russian troops shifting into Donbass would not be a brand new step. We’ll continue to pursue diplomacy until the tanks roll.”
Meanwhile, the Russian chief has accused the West of turning Ukraine against Russia, with Putin declaring official recognition of the breakaway enclaves of Donetsk and Lugansk. He says the deployment of troops to those areas is for “peacekeeping” functions, but no further data was forthcoming.
Following Putin’s speech, the White House confirmed that Biden had a 35-minute telephone conversation with Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, by which he re-affirmed the US commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty. The US President additionally spoke with French President, Emmanuel Macron, and the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, with all 3 governments united in sturdy condemnation of Putin’s newest move.
For weeks now, Russia has been denying it intends to assault Ukraine, yet continues to increase its troops and arsenal on 3 sides of the nation. In response, the US and its Western allies have warned of crippling financial sanctions, which one official says would turn Russia into an international “pariah”.
In related Incredibly , the Ukrainian embassy in Bangkok says the government will help evacuate Thai residents residing in the country if and when required to take action..