Today in US Politics
That’s it from me today. Here’s how the day unfolded in Washington, as the world awaits Russia’s next move in Ukraine:
- Joe Biden announced he will allow sanctions on the company overseeing construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to move forward. The news comes nearly a year after Biden used a national security waiver to block the congressionally-approved sanctions on the Russia-to-Germany pipeline. The White House had previously been hesitant to sanction Nord Stream 2 AG out of concern for its relationship with Berlin, but German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s decision to halt the project’s certification has now cleared the way for the sanctions.
- The Kremlin said it received an official request for military aid from the leaders of the two self-proclaimed in east Ukraine. The request could allow Vladimir Putin to send a larger military force into the region, potentially setting the stage for a fuller-scaler invasion.
- Republicans have offered a scattered response to the first tranche of Biden’s sanctions on Russia. Some Republican hawks in Congress, including Senator Lindsey Graham, have attacked the sanctions as an inadequate response to Putin’s aggression in Ukraine. But the leader of the Republican party, former President Donald Trump, has praised Putin as a “genius” for recognizing the two self-proclaimed republics in east Ukraine.
- House speaker Nancy Pelosi attacked Putin as a “tyrant” for ordering troops into east Ukraine. “It’s stunning to see, in this day and age, a tyrant roll into a country,” Pelosi said on Capitol Hill today, after returning from the Munich Security Conference. “This is the same tyrant who attacked our democracy in 2016.”
For more updates on Ukraine and Russia, be sure to follow the Guardian’s separate live blog:
Kremlin receives official request to send troops into east Ukraine
The Kremlin says that it has received an official request for military aid from the leaders of the two Russian-controlled territories in east Ukraine.
The request gives Russia a pretext to send a large military force into Donbas as early as this evening.
The Kremlin has received an official request to send its forces into east Ukraine. This could mark the beginning of Russia's operation in Ukraine. https://t.co/nUI5tYF9jX
— Andrew Roth (@Andrew__Roth) February 23, 2022
The separatist leaders asked Russia to “help repel the aggression of the Ukrainian armed forces in order to avoid civilian casualties and a humanitarian catastrophe in the Donbas,” according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov.
Russian news agencies have posted copies of the letters from the Donetsk and Luhansk Peoples’ Republics.
Vladimir Putin received authorisation from lawmakers to use his military abroad on Tuesday. He has amassed more than 60% of his land forces on the border with Ukraine.
