Sergey Ponomarev/The New York Times/Redux
Updated 0009 GMT (0809 HKT) February 22, 2022
Sergey Ponomarev/The New York Times/Redux
Tensions between Ukraine and Russia are at their highest in years, with Russia’s military building around Ukraine’s borders spurring fears Moscow could soon launch an attack.
On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered troops into separatist-held parts of eastern Ukraine in what the Kremlin called a “peacekeeping” mission, just hours after he signed decrees recognizing the independence of the Moscow-backed regions.
In a fiery speech on Monday night, Putin blasted Kyiv’s growing security ties with the West, and in lengthy remarks about the history of the USSR and the formation of the Ukrainian Socialist Soviet Republic, appeared to cast doubt on Ukraine’s right to self-determination.
US officials have warned that Russia could launch an invasion of Ukraine soon, but they are still holding out hope that diplomacy can prevail.
The escalation in the years-long conflict between Russia and Ukraine has triggered the greatest security crisis on the continent since the Cold War, raising the specter of a dangerous showdown between Western powers and Moscow.
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