Russia-Ukraine conflict: Moscow’s actions will have dire consequences, warns US
Categories: FOREIGN COUNTRIES
The United States on Tuesday warned that Russia’s actions will have dire consequences across the globe, hours after Moscow recognized the breakaway regions of Ukraine and ordered its troops for what it called “peacekeeping.” Tensions between Moscow and Western capitals are high following weeks of United States accusations that Russia has deployed up to 150,000 troops near Ukraine's borders for an invasion. Russia has denied it wants to invade Ukraine and accuses the West of hysteria. "President Putin has torn the Minsk Agreement to shreds. We have been clear that we do not believe he will stop at that," said Thomas-Greenfield, referring to the agreements of 2014 and 2015 that aimed to end conflict between the Ukrainian army and Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.Putin, who was joined by Russia-backed separatist leaders, signed a decree recognising the independence of the two Ukrainian breakaway regions -- the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic and the Lugansk People's Republic - along with agreements on cooperation and friendship. The Prohibition order was signed by Biden saying that, "Russia`s commitments under the Minsk agreements further threatens the peace, stability, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Ukraine, and thereby constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States."Ukrainian forces have been battling the Kremlin separatists in eastern Ukraine for eight years. When Putin spoke Monday, he demanded an immediate cessation of hostilities, warning that "all responsibility for the possible continuation of bloodshed will be completely and entirely on their conscience." "Today, the entire membership of the United Nations is under attack. Under attack by the country that occupied the membership of the Security Council in 1991 bypassing the UN charter. The country that occupied parts of Ukraine in 2014,'' Sergiy Kyslytsya said at the UNSC meeting.