Photo by ALEXEY NIKOLSKY/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images
Russian lawmakers have given President Vladimir Putin the go-ahead to use military force abroad, the Associated Press reported on Tuesday.
The vote passed unanimously in Russia's upper house — or Federation Council — and formalizes a military deployment, the report said.
The move comes a day after Putin ordered Russian troops into Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, and could pave the way for a broader invasion of Ukraine.
The White House on Tuesday said Russia's move to send troops into eastern Ukraine constituted the onset of an invasion. "An invasion is an invasion, and that is what is underway," deputy national security advisor Jon Finer told CNN.
Russia on Monday recognized breakaway territories in the Donbas as independent, before announcing that it was sending so-called "peacekeepers" into the region. The US responded with economic sanctions barring new investments in the Donbas, and prohibiting imports and exports from the separatist regions.
The Biden administration signaled that more sanctions would be announced on Tuesday.
Russia's actions toward Ukraine this week came after months of heightened tensions. Since late 2021, Russia gathered tens of troops on Ukraine's border. The Kremlin claimed it didn't have plans to invade, but refused to pull troops away from the border to help lower the temperature. Moscow also made demands for binding security guarantees from the West, including permanently barring Ukraine from NATO. The US and the alliance repeatedly made it clear this demand was a non-starter, maintaining that NATO's open door policy is non-negotiable.
In 2014, Russia invaded Ukraine and annexed Crimea. Since that year, the Kremlin has supported rebels in the Donbas in a war against Ukrainian forces that's killed over 13,000 people.
Putin on Tuesday continued to make demands, including the international recognition of Crimea as part of Russia, permanently banning Ukraine from joining NATO, and ending weapons shipments to Ukraine.
