The escalation of the crisis between Russia and the West over Ukraine shows no signs of stopping. Indeed, the winds of war blow stronger than ever. In these hours, the United States and Europe have responded with facts to Vladimir Putin, who announced that the Minsk agreements "no longer exist" and recognized the independence of the two self-proclaimed republics of Donbass, Donetsk and Lugansk, "hostages" of the pro-Russian separatists since 2014.

The Minsk agreements are the agreement between Moscow and Kiev, also mediated with the EU, to regulate relations between the two countries right after the 2014 crisis. An understanding that, therefore, no longer has value for the Kremlin.

Not only that, after the announcement of the Russian president on the Donbass, new columns of the Moscow army have entered eastern Ukraine. A move - says the Kremlin - "to ensure peace" in Donbass itself. But the West's opinion is completely the opposite: according to NATO, in fact, "large-scale attacks" are imminent.

For this reason, the first sanctions against Moscow have already taken place. The UK has taken action against five Russian banks, while Germany has suspended agreements to build the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. And then the United States. President Joe Biden is very tough, whose administration has drawn up "a first tranche" of sanctions against two Russian financial institutions, also affecting sovereign debt and the Russian elites and their families. Biden also announced "an additional deployment" of US troops to the Baltic countries that are NATO members and further military support in Kiev.

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Russian military towards the Ukrainian border - A military convoy from Moscow with over 100 trucks loaded with soldiers was spotted heading towards the Ukrainian border in the Russian region of Belgorod, north of the self-proclaimed separatist republic of Lugansk. The Guardian reports it.

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Biden announces US sanctions - "If Russia continues with these invasions, we must continue to respond and the only answer is sanctions," US President Joe Biden said, speaking to the nation live worldwide.

The response to the destabilization implemented by Russia "will be joint and agreed with our partners, because Putin is trying to forcibly steal territories that are not his", added Biden. Then the sanctions: for Russia "no trading on the American market or on the European ones" and then "sanctions on Russian leaders and companies" will be triggered. But the "price will be even higher if Putin continues".

"If the forces in Belarus are not removed - added Biden - we will deploy our forces in the Baltic countries, but let's be clear in a defensive way, we don't want to attack Russia, we just want to protect every inch of territory that Russia intends to steal".

"Russia - continued Biden - could launch a massive military attack, I would be wrong but so far no de-escalation has been implemented, given that 150 thousand Russian soldiers are deployed and there are naval and submarine maneuvers in the Black Sea" .

"This behavior - concluded Biden, who also feared that Moscow may also intend to reach Kiev - is a provocation, in violation of international law and Russia must pay the price".

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EU: "Harsh sanctions on Russia" - "The sanctions will hurt Russia a lot". This was stated by the EU High Representative for EU Foreign Policy Josep Borrell. "The diplomatic efforts will continue - he added - We must prevent the conflict at all costs. We have now received a request from Ukraine to help them in dealing with cyber attacks and we will send a mission" for this.

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Putin: "Kiev renounces NATO" - "The best solution would be for Ukraine to spontaneously renounce its ambition to join NATO". This was stated by Russian President Vladimir Putin, after the entry of troops from Moscow into the Donbass, where the separatist republics of Donetsk and Lugansk have been recognized.

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NATO: "We expect a large-scale attack" - "We are at the most dangerous moment for European security for generations". NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said this at a press conference. "We want to try to understand how to avoid the danger by seeing that forces are there in and around Ukraine. Russia is doing exactly what we had foreseen: there are all indications" of a large-scale attack by Moscow. , underlines the number one born.

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White House: "It is the beginning of an invasion" - "We think it is the beginning of an invasion": Jonathan Finer, of the US National Security Council, told CNN, commenting on the latest developments in the Russian-Ukrainian crisis . Yesterday the White House had been more cautious, speaking of Moscow's "flagrant violation of international commitments", while in a background phone call a senior administration official had avoided talking about the invasion.

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Kremlin: "The slowdown on Nord Stream is temporary"

Russia expects the braking on Nord Stream 2 to be "temporary". The Kremlin says this after the announcement of the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on the freezing of authorizations for the gas pipeline from Russia to Germany.

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Johnson: "Sanctions against 5 banks and oligarchs" - The United Kingdom announces sanctions against 5 Russian banks and to freeze all the British assets of some well-known oligarchs considered close to President Vladimir Putin. This was announced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson in the Westminster Parliament, insisting that this is only a first tranche of economic sanctions which will be followed by others if the situation does not change.

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Germany suspends Nord Stream 2 - Germany has suspended the authorization of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, an important project to transport gas from Russia to Western Europe, via Germany. Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced this, explaining that he had asked to stop the process of reviewing the pipeline by the German regulatory authority. "It seems technical, but it is the necessary administrative step", he explained, underlining that with this procedural stop "there can be no certification of the pipeline. And without this certification, Nord Stream 2 cannot go into operation".

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First ok by EU ambassadors to “targeted” sanctions for Moscow - First green light from the meeting of EU ambassadors (Coreper II) to the package of sanctions to be put in place against Russia. The French presidency underlines that "there is unity" on the part of the member states in the reaction to Russian decisions. "There is determination to take targeted sanctions against those involved" in operations in the Donbass, "in coordination with our allies".

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Draghi: "The path of dialogue remains essential" - "I am in constant contact with the allies to find a peaceful solution to the crisis and avoid a war in the heart of Europe. The path of dialogue remains essential, but we are already defining in the context European Union measures and sanctions against Russia ". Thus Prime Minister Mario Draghi at the opening of his speech at the inauguration of Franco Frattini at the Council of State.

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Borrell: "Today the EU will adopt the first sanctions" - "This afternoon we will adopt the first sanctions" against Moscow. This was stated by the High Representative for EU Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, arriving in Paris at the Forum for Indo-Pacific Cooperation. "An informal Foreign Affairs Council will be held after this Forum", announced Borrell saying he was "certain of the unanimous vote" of the member countries.

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Kiev: "Two soldiers killed in the night" - Two Ukrainian soldiers were killed by bombing last night and another 12 were injured, the Joint Forces Operation of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry announced in a report published this morning. The Guardian reports it. The document points out that Ukraine has recorded 84 ceasefire violations in the past 24 hours by Russian-backed forces, 64 of them with weapons prohibited by the Minsk agreements.

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UN: "Real risk of conflict" - "The next few hours and days will be critical. The risk of a great conflict is real and must be prevented at all costs". This was stated by the UN undersecretary for political affairs, Rosemary Dicarlo, at the emergency meeting of the Security Council on Ukraine, assuring "the full commitment of the secretary general to work for a diplomatic solution to the current crisis". "We also regret - he added - the order to deploy Russian troops in eastern Ukraine, as reported in a 'peacekeeping mission'".

(Unioneonline)

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