UN chief says Russia-Ukraine crisis testing "entire international system"

Our world is facing the biggest global peace and security crisis in recent years – certainly in my tenure as Secretary-General. We face a moment that I sincerely hoped would not come,

said Guterres.

He added he is "deeply troubled" by the latest developments regarding Ukraine -- including reports of increased ceasefire violations across the contact line and the real risk of further escalation on the ground.  

[...] the decision of the Russian Federation to recognize the so-called “independence” of certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions is a violation of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine,

said Guterres.

"Such a unilateral measure conflicts directly with the principles of the Charter of the United Nations," he said, adding:

It is also a death blow to the Minsk Agreements endorsed by the Security Council.

"The principles of the UN Charter are not an a la carte menu. They cannot be applied selectively," he stressed.

Guterres noted he is also concerned about the "perversion of the concept of peacekeeping."

When troops of one country enter the territory of another country without its consent, they are not impartial peacekeepers. They are not peacekeepers at all.

A critical moment

The UN, in line with the relevant Security Council and General Assembly resolutions, “stands fully behind the sovereignty, political independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine, within its internationally recognized borders”, stated the Secretary-General.

He reminded the reporters that the UN continues to support the people of Ukraine through its humanitarian operations and human rights efforts.

At this critical moment, he called for “an immediate ceasefire and re-establishment of the rule of law”.

“We need restraint and reason. We need de-escalation now,” spelled out the UN chief, urging all to “refrain from actions and statements that would take this dangerous situation over the brink”.

Return to dialogue, negotiations

“It is high time to return to the path of dialogue and negotiations. We must rally and meet this challenge together for peace, and to save the people of Ukraine and beyond from the scourge of war”, Mr. Guterres said.

“I am fully committed to all efforts to resolve this crisis without further bloodshed”.

The Secretary-General reiterated that his good offices are available and would not relent in the search for a peaceful solution.

Meeting between top U.S. and Russian diplomats called off

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said a planned meeting on Thursday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Geneva has been canceled over Moscow’s moves to recognize separatist regions in eastern Ukraine, Bloomberg reported. 

“Now that we see the invasion is beginning and Russia has made clear its wholesale rejection of diplomacy, it does not make sense to go forward with that meeting at this time,” Blinken said at a news conference alongside Ukraine’s foreign minister.

We will not allow Russia to claim the pretense of diplomacy at the same time it accelerates its march down the path of conflict and war.

Australia, Japan, Canada impose sanctions

In response to Russian troops entering Ukraine, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced sanctions on Wednesday against Russian individuals and banks. Financial and travel bans would be placed on top Russian officials, as well as banks linked to the state and military, he said.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced his country will halt visas for people who have connections to Donetsk and Luhansk, and freeze their assets. Japan will also ban trade with the breakaway republics and prohibit Russia from issuing or distributing new sovereign debt in Japan.

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Tuesday that Russia’s disregard for international law will be met by “severe consequences” and sanctions.

“Russia’s brazen provocations are a threat to security and peace in the world,” the PM said during a late afternoon news briefing on Parliament Hill.

Trudeau announced that Canada will sanction members of the Russian parliament who voted to recognize two breakaway territories in eastern Ukraine. “This is a further invasion of a sovereign state,” Trudeau said. “And it is completely unacceptable.”

Canadians will also be banned from financial dealings with the so-called Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics, he added.

Ukraine calls reservists

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he signed an order to call up reservists to “raise army readiness for any possible changes in the real-time situation.”

“There is no need for a general mobilization as of now,” Zelenskiy said Tuesday night in an address to the nation, before adding that “we need to quickly fill the ranks of the army.”

UK to stop Russia selling sovereign debt in London

Britain will stop Russia selling sovereign debt in London after President Vladimir Putin deployed military forces into two breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said on Wednesday, Reuters reported.

"We've been very clear that we're going to limit Russian access to British markets," Truss told Sky. "We're going to stop the Russian government with raising sovereign debt in the United Kingdom."

"There will be even more tough sanctions on key oligarchs, on key organisations in Russia, limiting Russia's access to the financial markets, if there is a full scale invasion of Ukraine," Truss said.

Russia vs. Ukraine

Putin on Monday recognised two Russian-backed regions in Ukraine after an hour-long televised address to the nation in which he delved as far back as the 17th Century to justify his belief that modern Ukraine was created by Vladimir Lenin's revolutionary government after the 1917 revolutions.

Western intelligence agencies are trying to work out if Putin's plan is merely to formalise control over the two rebel regions or use them as the first part of a much larger annexation of Ukraine.

Truss said it was highly likely Putin's plans involved a move on Ukrainian capital Kyiv.

Russia denies it plans to invade and says the West is gripped by anti-Russian hysteria and has repeatedly failed to take into account Russian interests since the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union.

Bitter about Ukraine's long-term goal to join NATO and claiming it as historic Russian land, Russian President Vladimir Putin has amassed more than 150,000 troops near Ukraine's borders, according to U.S. estimates, and ordered soldiers into the breakaway Donetsk and Luhansk regions to "keep the peace".

Cover photo: Getty Images