Russia-Ukraine Updates: Air India’s special ferry flight on way to Kyiv to bring back Indians

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed two decrees recognizing “the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR)” and “the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR)” as independent and sovereign states. At a ceremony held in the Kremlin on Monday, Putin also inked the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance between Russia and the LPR and the DPR respectively with the heads of the two “republics,” a Kremlin statement said. “I consider it necessary to make a long overdue decision — to immediately recognize the independence and sovereignty of the DPR and the LPR,” Putin said in a televised address to the nation. “Russia has done everything to preserve the territorial integrity of Ukraine” by fighting for the implementation of 2015 Minsk agreements, but all the efforts ended up in vain, he told the public. According to Putin, nearly everyday there is Ukrainian shelling of settlements in Donbass and “there is no end in sight.” The crisis reached a flashpoint due to the eastward expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), prompting Russia to mobilise troops on its western border with Ukraine. Ukraine and some Western countries accused Russia of assembling heavy troops near the Ukrainian border with a possible intention of “invasion”, a charge repeatedly denied by Moscow saying it has the right to mobilise troops within its borders to defend its territory as the NATO’s activities constitute a threat to the country’s border security.

Japan criticises Russia, will discuss sanctions

Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida criticised Russia for violating Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity and said his country will discuss possible severe actions including sanctions with the international community. Kishida was responding to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s signing Monday of decree recognising the independence of two separatist regions in eastern Ukraine, ordering his troops to maintain peace in those areas. Putin’s announcement raised fears of an imminent invasion. “Those actions are unacceptable, and we express our strong condemnation,” Kishida told reporters Tuesday. “Japan is watching the development with grave concern.”

US envoy says Putin testing how far he can push

The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations has dismissed as nonsense Russian President Vladimir Putin’s announcement that he is putting Russian troops in separatist areas of eastern Ukraine as peacekeepers, saying their presence is clearly the basis for Russia’s attempt to create a pretext for a further invasion of Ukraine. Linda Thomas-Greenfield told an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Monday night that this move and Putin’s earlier announcement that Russia will recognize the separatist areas as independent states are also an unprovoked attack on Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. By his actions, she said, Putin has torn the Minsk Agreement to shreds. Thomas-Greenfield said Putin has put before the world a choice and it must not look away because history tells us that looking the other way in the face of such hostility will be a far more costly path. She said Putin is testing to see how far he can push us all, and all countries must stand up for the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all countries. Thomas-Greenfield warned that the consequences of Russia’s actions will be dire across Ukraine, across Europe, and across the globe.

Over 1,500 UN staff to remain in Ukraine

Despite the ongoing tensions in Ukraine, the UN is committed to staying with about 1,500 staff, some 100 of them in the the country’s conflict-hit east where Russia has recognised the two breakaway rebel regions as independent states, a spokesman for the world body said. “As a result of the evolving situation on the ground, we’ve allowed for temporary relocation of some nonessential staff and some dependents,” said Stephane Dujarric, the chief spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. “At the same time, we have more staff coming in … to support our operations. We are continuing to be committed to staying and delivering in Ukraine, especially in Eastern Ukraine,” Dujarric said. “Our operations continue to be fully operational,” Xinhua news agency quoted the spokesman as saying. Overall, he said, the global body has about 2,696 staff and their dependents in Ukraine, approximately 1,510 staff and some 100 in the Donbas region which comprises Luhansk and Donetsk. The spokesman further broke down the numbers to say that 149 of the 1,510 are international staff members, and 1,361 are national staff members.

Air India flight on way to Kyiv to bring back Indians

Air India’s special ferry flight left for Ukraine from India today morning to bring back the Indian nationals. The Dreamliner B-787 aircraft deployed for the special operation with a capacity of over 200 seats. The special flight from Ukraine will land in Delhi tonight.

News Credit: India TV News