Closing summary
It’s 9pm in Kyiv. Here’s where we stand:
Politicians across Europe have warned the suspected sabotaging of the two Nord Stream pipelines could herald a new stage of hybrid warfare targeting vulnerable energy infrastructure in order to undermine support of Ukraine. Norway’s prime minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, said his country would step up its military presence at Norwegian installations after the country had become Europe’s largest supplier of natural gas.
Moscow is poised to formally annex Russian-occupied regions after so-called referendums that have been denounced by the west. The Russian-installed leaders of the Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions in Ukraine have formally asked President Vladimir Putin to annex the occupied territories into Russia. Russia’s foreign ministry said action will be taken soon to meet the “aspirations” of four occupied Ukrainian regions to become part of Russia. Once annexed, Russia’s leadership has said it will consider attacks on the Russian-controlled areas as a direct attack on Russia.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, says Ukraine will “defend” its citizens in Russian-occupied regions after what he described as “an imitation of referendums”. “We will act to protect our people: both in the Kherson region, in the Zaporizhzhia region, in the Donbas, in the currently occupied areas of the Kharkiv region and in the Crimea,” he said in a video posted on Telegram.
Ukraine’s foreign ministry has said the “propaganda show called ‘referendums’ in the temporarily occupied territories” is “yet another Russian crime”. Ukraine and its allies “condemn such actions of Russia and consider them null and worthless”, it said in a statement, which also called on the west to increase pressure on Russia, including by imposing new sanctions, and significantly increase military aid to Ukraine.
Britain’s prime minister, Liz Truss, told President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in a phone call that the UK would never recognise Russian attempts to annex parts of Ukraine, Downing Street said. Zelenskiy also tweeted about the call and said he expected London’s leadership in response to what he called the “sham referenda” in occupied parts of Ukraine.
The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has announced a fresh round of proposed sanctions on Russia designed “to make the Kremlin pay” for escalating the conflict in Ukraine. The proposed eighth package of “biting” sanctions includes a cap on the price of Russian oil and further curbs on hi-tech trade.
The EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, also denounced the holding of “illegal referenda and their falsified outcome” in occupied parts of Ukraine. He also promised “a robust and united response” from the EU over attacks on energy infrastructure, describing damage to the Nord Stream 1 and 2 as “not a coincidence and affect us all”.
Israel has strengthened its hitherto cautious stance on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, saying it will “not accept the results of the referendum in the eastern districts” of the occupied country. Tuesday night’s statement from the Israeli foreign ministry, which also said it “recognises the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine”, has been received as an unprecedented show of support for Ukraine, and a rare Israeli rebuke to Moscow.
Gas prices have risen on fears that Russia could halt supplies to Europe through Ukraine, adding to turmoil caused by damage to the Nord Stream pipelines under the Baltic Sea. The statement came after the discovery of leaks on the two Nord Stream gas pipelines under the Baltic near the Danish island of Bornholm in a suspected act of sabotage, although exactly by whom or why remains unconfirmed.
European leaders have said sabotage is the most likely cause of leaks in two Nord Stream gas pipelines between Russia and Europe, after seismologists reported explosions around the Baltic Sea lines. German authorities reportedly fear the Nord Stream 1 could become “unusable forever” if leaks in the two lines are not repaired quickly. Sweden’s national police force has opened an investigation into leaks from the Nord Stream pipeline after authorities in Stockholm suggested the “blasts” were “probably a deliberate act”. Norway’s foreign minister, Anniken Huitfeldt, said the explosions and gas leakage in the Baltic Sea were of “deep concern” to the Norwegian government.
The Kremlin dismissed claims that Russia was behind the attack on the Nord Stream gas pipeline, describing them as “quite predictable and also predictably stupid”. In a call with reporters, the Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said the incident needed to be investigated and that the timings for the repair of the damaged pipelines were not clear.
Authorities in the Russian region of North Ossetia, which borders Georgia, are reportedly putting in place travel restrictions to prevent people fleeing to Georgia to avoid conscription. The report by the Moscow Times cites the head of the region, Sergey Menyaylo, as saying that more than 20,000 people had entered Georgia through the section of the border in just the past two days.
The US embassy in Moscow has issued a security alert and urged American citizens to leave Russia immediately. In a statement on its website, the it warned that dual Russian-US nationals may be called up as part of the Russian government’s mobilisation. US citizens should not travel to Russia and that those residing or travelling in the country should depart Russia immediately while limited commercial travel options remain, it said.
The governments of Romania, Bulgaria and Poland are urging any citizens that remain in the Russian Federation to leave urgently. That may be in anticipation of border crossings becoming much more difficult as routes out close and more people flee forced mobilisation in Russia.
Russian authorities say they are establishing checkpoints at some of the country’s borders to forcibly mobilise Russian men who are seeking to avoid mobilisation by fleeing the country. Social media footage shows military vehicles moving toward the border, reportedly to establish the mobilisation checkpoint.
Russia is mounting a more substantive defence than previously as Ukraine attempts to press forward “on at least two axes east”, according to the UK’s Ministry of Defence. Heavy fighting continued in the Kherson region where the Russian force on the right bank of the Dnipro remained vulnerable, it said in its latest intelligence update.
Ukrainian authorities say they have identified five Russian soldiers who allegedly shot at civilian cars in the Kyiv region during the first days of the war. The Russian soldiers are charged with killing five people, and injuring a further six, who were trying to flee Hostomel on 25 February, a day after Russia invaded.
That’s it from me, Léonie Chao-Fong, and the Russia-Ukraine war blog today. Thank you for reading.
Russia says it will fulfil ‘aspirations’ to annex occupied regions
Russia’s foreign ministry has said action will be taken soon to meet the “aspirations” of four occupied Ukrainian regions to become part of Russia.
In a statement, the ministry claimed the votes in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine were held in compliance with international law.
It said:
In the nearest future, a crucial stage lies ahead in our joint actions to fulfil the aspirations of the residents (of the four regions) to be together with Russia.
Updated
