EU calls emergency talks on Russia as eastern nations back Ukraine membership

Sanctions approved by bloc’s ambassadors expected to target Putin’s inner circle

Ukraine has called up reservists but stopped short of a full military mobilisation. AFP

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EU leaders were called to an emergency summit on the Russia-Ukraine crisis on Wednesday as eastern members pushed for Ukraine to be admitted to the bloc.

It came as EU ambassadors signed off a sanctions package penalising 27 people in Russia’s media, political, business and military worlds as well as 351 MPs who voted to recognise two separatist governments in Ukraine.

The list of names was due to be published later, but leaked drafts suggested the measures would target President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle and some of Russia’s most prominent faces.

Those people included Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and journalist Margarita Simonyan, the editor of pro-Kremlin news channel Russia Today.

Sanctions were also expected to hit the president’s chief of staff, Anton Vaino, and businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, a catering tycoon nicknamed “Putin’s chef” who is widely believed to bankroll the Wagner Group mercenary army.

The measures were aimed at people who “have played a role in undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine,” the European Council said in a statement.

Charles Michel, the president of the European Council, called an emergency meeting for Thursday in which he said the 27 leaders would discuss further ways to hold Russia accountable.

“The use of force and coercion to change borders has no place in the 21st century,” he said.

Britain, which was under pressure to expand its brief initial sanctions list, ordered an inquiry into broadcasting by RT, which is accused of spreading propaganda on Mr Putin’s behalf.

On Monday, Russia ordered so-called peacekeepers to deploy to the two separatist regions of Ukraine, in what some western powers described as an invasion.

Separatist leader Denis Pushilin in Donetsk said they had not entered those areas, but American ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the US had seen forces moving into the region.

“We know that there were some Russians there already but we are seeing movements of additional troops right now,” she said.

Ukraine’s government ordered a 30-day state of emergency, urged its citizens in Russia to leave and called up military reservists, but said there was no need for a wider military mobilisation despite the country’s partial encirclement by Russian troops.

As President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for “clear security guarantees” in the absence of Nato membership for Kiev, the presidents of Lithuania and Poland jointly called for Ukraine to become an EU member. It has an association agreement but full membership typically takes years to negotiate.

“Ukraine deserves EU candidate status and Lithuania and Poland will support Ukraine in achieving this goal,” the three presidents said in a joint statement.

Government websites including the homepage of Ukraine's Foreign Ministry went down on Wednesday, drawing immediate suspicion of a cyber-attack after a series of previous incidents blamed on Russia.

Mr Putin said in a video message on Wednesday that Russia was always open to diplomacy and “direct and honest dialogue”. But he said Russia would always put its own national security interests first and continue to strengthen its military in the face of what he called a difficult international situation.

Ukrainians protest in front of the Russian embassy in Kiev, Ukraine, 22 February 2022 amid escalation on the Ukraine-Russian border. Russia on 21 February 2022 recognized the eastern Ukrainian self-proclaimed breakaway regions as independent states and ordered the deployment of peacekeeping troops to the Donbas, triggering an expected series of economic sanctions announcements by Western countries. The self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DNR) and Luhansk People's Republic (LNR) declared independence in 2014 amid an armed conflict in eastern Ukraine. EPA / SERGEY DOLZHENKO EPA-EFE / SERGEY DOLZHENKO

The White House said a proposed summit between Mr Putin and US President Joe Biden, which French leader Emmanuel Macron had tried to broker, was off the table.

A meeting on Thursday between Antony Blinken and Sergey Lavrov, foreign ministers of the US and Russia, has also been cancelled amid fears Mr Putin is planning a full invasion.

Previous talks foundered over Russia’s insistence that Ukraine be banned from joining Nato, a demand rejected by the alliance.

Annalena Baerbock, Germany’s Foreign Minister, said Mr Putin was trying to “turn back the wheel of time” by intervening in eastern Ukraine.

In Britain, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the UK would send more weapons and aid to Ukraine to help it prepare for an attack.

He said this had become necessary because of “increasingly threatening behaviour from Russia” after it recognised two separatist regions of Ukraine as independent and ordered so-called peacekeepers into those areas.

Critics said Britain’s initial batch of sanctions on Russia, hitting three businessmen and five banks, did not go far enough in chasing Kremlin-linked money out of London.

But UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said further measures were “in the locker” if Mr Putin ordered a wider attack on Ukraine, which she said he appeared “hell-bent” on doing.

Firefighters arrive at a military building in Kiev that was damaged in an explosion. EPA

A man looks at the debris of an unidentified object in the aftermath of an explosion in Kiev. EPA

Black smoke rises from a military airport in Chuguyev near Kharkiv. AFP

People take shelter in a Kiev subway station, after Russian President Vladimir Putin authorised a military operation in eastern Ukraine. Reuters

A Kiev underground train station provides some shelter. Reuters

Clear airspace over Ukraine, shortly after the attack began, as shown on the Flightradar24 website. AP

Kiev residents leave the city following pre-offensive missile strikes by the Russian armed forces and Belarus. Getty

Russian President Vladimir Putin justified the attack in a televised address, saying it was to protect civilians in eastern Ukraine. AP

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addresses the nation in Kiev. He has declared martial law, saying Russia has targeted Ukraine's military infrastructure. AP

Firefighters extinguish a blaze at a house in Muratovo, in Ukraine's Luhansk enclave. AFP

The house is said to have been hit during shelling by Russian-backed separatists. AFP

The coffin of Capt Anton Sidorov is carried by members of the honour guard during a ceremony held at the Ministry of Defence in Kiev, Ukraine. Getty

A picture memorial for those killed in the confrontation between Ukraine's military and pro-Russia separatist forces, in the Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine. AP

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and Russia's Ambassador to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, attend a Security Council meeting in New York to discuss the crisis in Ukraine. Reuters

Ukraine's UN ambassador Sergey Kyslytsya speaks during an emergency meeting of the Security Council. AP

US Army soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division head towards an air base near Arlamow, Poland. Reuters

An employee works at the gun counter of a tactical equipment shop in Kiev, Ukraine. Getty

A Ukrainian soldier speaks on a walkie-talkie at his position at the line of separation between Ukraine-held territory and rebel-held territory near Svitlodarsk, eastern Ukraine. AP

A man removes his belongings from his house after it was struck by artillery shells in Novoluhanske, eastern Ukraine. AP

A damaged house in Vibrovka village. EPA

A man shows a poster in support of Ukraine as he protests against the escalation of the tension between Russia and Ukraine, in Berlin. AP

Soldiers carry the coffin of Capt Anton Sydorov, 35, after he was killed in eastern Ukraine. AP

Workers look into a destroyed house after shelling near the city of Novoluhanske in Donetsk. Reuters

Destroyed buildings in Krasnogorivka, Ukraine. AFP

Smoke rises from a power plant after shelling outside the town of Schastia, a day after Moscow recognised two Ukrainian separatist republics and ordered the Russian Army to send in troops as ‘peacekeepers’. AFP

A Ukrainian Army soldier trudges through the wintry streets of Schastia on patrol. AFP

Three women run for cover during shelling in Schastia, eastern Ukraine. AFP

Russian tanks and armoured vehicles on the road in Rostov. EPA

A woman shares food with dogs in Stanytsia Luhanska, a crossing point between Ukrainian government-controlled areas and pro-Russian separatists' territory. AP

People wave Russian flags in Donetsk, the territory controlled by pro-Russian militants, in eastern Ukraine. AP

A tank drives along a street in the city of Donetsk. Reuters

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addresses the nation on TV and says 'we are not afraid' after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered troops into Donetsk and Luhansk, two Moscow-backed rebel regions of Ukraine. AFP

A military truck in Donetsk after Mr Putin ordered the deployment of Russian troops to the city. Reuters

Russian state television showed Mr Putin signing a decree recognising the independence of the two Ukrainian breakaway regions. Reuters

US President Joe Biden signs an executive order at the White House to prohibit trade and investment between US individuals and the two breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine. Reuters

Mr Putin signs documents, including the decree recognising two Russian-backed breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine. Reuters

Ukraine ambassador to the United Nations, Sergiy Kyslytsya, addresses an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on the situation between Ukraine and Russia in New York. EPA

Mr Johnson’s government has written to media regulator Ofcom telling it to keep a “watchful eye” on Russia Today, which opposition leader Keir Starmer said had become the “personal propaganda tool” of Mr Putin.

But Mr Johnson said it should be up to the regulator to decide whether to ban the channel, not politicians, because “that’s what Russia does”. One Conservative MP said a ban could lead to the BBC being blocked in Russia.

Britain also came out in favour of moving football’s Champions League final away from St Petersburg, where the state-sponsored Gazprom Arena is due to host the fixture in May.

Australia, Canada and Japan joined the US and European countries in imposing sanctions on Russia.

More than 400 Ukrainians will have visa applications to Australia fast-tracked, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said. He announced that eight members of Russia’s national security council would face sanctions.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba urged the West to go further with sanctions to weaken Mr Putin. He said: “Hit his economy and cronies. Hit more. Hit hard. Hit now.”