23:05 Ukraine has turned to the International Court of Justice of the United Nations in regard with russia's annexation of Ukrainian territories
The appeal was made public by Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba
Read more: Ukraine Applies for Rapid NATO Accession While putin States he Annexes Four Regions of the Country
22:40 Great Brirtain imposes new sanctions against the russian federation
This includes ban on 700 goods from the United Kingdom, "that are critical for production in Russia’s manufacturing sector" and are estimated at over £200 million (roughly USD 223 million) worth of goods imported to russia last year.
Also, russia will now be cut off all the:
- IT consultancy services
- architectural services
- engineering services
- advertising services
- transactional legal advisory services
- auditing services – provided by the United Kingdom
In general, the sanctions introduced by the UK are meant to match those imposed by the United States today as well.
22:33 Foreign Ministers of the G7 published a joint statement in response to the annexation of Ukrainian territories
"We, the G7 Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and the High Representative of the European Union, are united in our condemnation in the strongest possible terms of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and its continued violations of Ukraine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence."
The countries committed to imposing more sanctions against Russia and continue to support Ukraine in the face of russian nuclear threats:
"We reiterate our condemnation of Russia’s irresponsible nuclear rhetoric. It will not distract or dissuade us from supporting Ukraine, for as long as necessary."
21:40 The United States hasn't seen indications of russia preparing for a nuclear attack
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said there have not been any actions that may lead to a nuclear strike amid the invasion of Ukraine, Reuters reports.
"We are looking very carefully to see if Russia is actually doing anything that suggests that they are contemplating the use of nuclear weapons. To date, we've not seen them take these actions," Blinken assured at a news conference in Washington. Still, he was concerned about the Kremlin's rhetoric:
"This kind of loose talk about nuclear weapons is the height of irresponsibility and it's something that we take very seriously," the official said.
For reference: here's the report by the Institute for the Study of War on putin's narratives that constitute implicit nuclear threats.
21:04 U.S. President Joe Biden denounces the annexation of Ukrainian territories by russia, imposes new sanctions on russian companies and officials, promises more military support for Ukraine:
In response to Russia’s phony claims of annexation, the United States, together with our Allies and partners, are announcing new sanctions today. These sanctions will impose costs on individuals and entities — inside and outside of Russia — that provide political or economic support to illegal attempts to change the status of Ukrainian territory. We will rally the international community to both denounce these moves and to hold Russia accountable. We will continue to provide Ukraine with the equipment it needs to defend itself, undeterred by Russia’s brazen effort to redraw the borders of its neighbor. And I look forward to signing legislation from Congress that will provide an additional $12 billion to support Ukraine," reads the statement released by the Biden administration.
20:56 Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania support the fast-tracked accession of Ukraine to NATO
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia Edgars Rinkēvičs announced this on his Twitter page:
16:58 President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi published an address to the nation, in which he condemned the annexation and ruled out any further talks with putin: "It is obvious, that it is impossible with this Russian president. He does not know what dignity and honesty are. Therefore, we are ready for a dialogue with Russia, but already with another president of Russia," Zelenskyi said in a statement.
He also said he had a session of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine. There are three key decisions, as quoted:
"First – only the path of strengthening Ukraine and ousting the occupiers from our entire territory that restores peace," which means the territories occupied by russia back in 2014 – the Crimea and partly Donbas – will also be liberated by all means, military ones included.
"Second – Ukraine was and remains a leader in negotiation efforts", but it is impossible with the current president of russia.
"And third – we must de jure record everything we have already achieved de facto. It is in Ukraine that the fate of democracy in the confrontation with tyranny is being concluded". The President with these words signed an application on joining NATO under accelerated procedure. Read more.
16:00 President of the russian federation vladimir putin signs the agreements: on the recognition of occupied Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions of Ukraine as "independent" states and immediately after – on the "acceptance" of these two regions as well as Luhansk and Donetsk regions partly occupied since 2014 as new a territorial entities of the russian federation. The rulers of occupation administrations put in charge by the russian government are recognized as the governors of these regions.
Read more: 120k russians in Belarus and Another 100k Mobilized Belarusians – How Real the Threat Is
