Russia-Ukraine crisis updates: Japan sanctions Russia, separatist Ukraine areas

The Latest on the Russia-Ukraine crisis:

WELLINGTON, New Zealand -- New Zealand's government summoned Russian Ambassador Georgii Zuev to meet Wednesday with top diplomatic officials who are urging Russia to return to diplomatic negotiations over Ukraine.

Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta is currently out of the country but said in a statement that the ambassador was called in "to hear New Zealand's strong opposition to the actions taken by Russia in recent days, and condemn what looks to be the beginning of a Russian invasion into Ukraine territory."

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed to The Associated Press on Wednesday afternoon that the meeting had taken place but declined to provide any further details.

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CANBERRA, Australia -- Australia has announced additional sanctions on Russia and is warning businesses to prepare for retaliation through Russian cyberattacks.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Wednesday that targeted financial sanctions and travel bans will be a first batch of measures in response to Russian aggression toward Ukraine.

Australia and Russia have imposed sanctions on each other since 2014. The sanctions were initiated by Australia in protest of Russian involvement in the Ukraine conflict.

The National Security Committee of Morrison's Cabinet approved sanctions and travel bans that target eight members of the Russian Security Council. They also agreed to expand previous sanctions and to align with the United States and Britain by targeting two Russian banks.

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TOKYO -- Japan's prime minister has announced sanctions targeting Russia and two separatist Ukrainian regions recognized as independent by Russian President Vladimir Putin, joining an international effort seeking to pressure Russia to return to diplomatic solutions.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Wednesday that his government will ban new issuance and distribution of Russian government bonds in Japan in response to the "actions Russia has been taking in Ukraine."

He said Japan will also suspend visa issuance to the people linked to the two Ukrainian rebel regions and freeze their assets in Japan, and will ban trade with the two areas.

Kishida repeated his "strong condemnation" of Russia for violating Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity as well as international law.

He added: "We strongly urge Russia to return to diplomatic process in resolving the development."

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UNITED NATIONS -- The United Nations chief says the world is facing "the biggest global peace and security crisis in recent years" and is calling Russia's declaration of the "so-called `independence"' of separatist areas in eastern Ukraine a violation of its territorial integrity and accusing Moscow of "the perversion of the concept of peacekeeping."

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters Tuesday he is proud of the achievements of the U.N.'s far-flung peacekeepers, but when troops of one country enter the territory of another country without its consent, as Russian forces have done, "they are not impartial peacekeepers -- they are not peacekeepers at all" as Moscow has called them.

Guterres said Russia's unilateral actions also "conflict" with the U.N. Charter and are "a death blow to the Minsk Agreements" aimed at restoring peace to eastern Ukraine.

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OTTAWA, Ontario -- Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada is sending hundreds more troops to eastern Europe and imposing new sanctions on Russia in response to the deployment of forces into Ukraine.

The prime minister says up to 460 additional Canadian Armed Forces members are being sent to Latvia and the surrounding region to bolster NATO in the face of Russian aggression.

He also says Canada is taking a number of steps alongside its allies to isolate Russia financially.

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WASHINGTON -- Secretary of State Antony Blinken says he has cancelled plans to meet his Russian counterpart in Geneva later this week as Russia presses ahead with recognition of separatist regions of Ukraine.

Blinken told reporters on Tuesday that Russia's actions indicated Moscow was not serious about a diplomatic path to resolving the crisis. As a result, he said he had called off his Thursday meeting with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Echoing President Joe Biden, Blinken said Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to recognize the independence of Ukraine's Donbass region was a violation of international law. And, he said the placement of Russian troops there constituted the beginning of an invasion.

Although he held out hope for a peaceful resolution through diplomacy, he said he did not believe a meeting with Lavrov would be productive at this time.

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KYIV, Ukraine -- Ukraine's president has called up some of the country's military reservists as the threat of a Russian invasion grows, but says there is no need for a full military mobilization.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video address to the nation Tuesday night that he had signed a decree to that effect.

"Today there is no need for a full mobilization. We need to quickly add additional staff to the Ukrainian army and other military formations," Zelenskyy said.

He said the decree only applies to those assigned to the so-called operational reserve, which is typically activated during ongoing hostilities, and covers "a special period of time," without clarifying what that means.

"Ukrainians are a peaceful nation, we want silence, but if we keep silent today, we will disappear tomorrow," Zelenskyy said.

There are about 250,000 troops in Ukraine's armed forces.

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NEW YORK -- Stocks are closing lower on Wall Street after Russia sent forces into Ukraine's eastern regions, escalating tensions.

The benchmark S&P 500 index fell 1% to 4,304.76 on Tuesday, and is now more than 10% below it's all-time high set in January. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq also lost more than 1%. Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized the independence of rebel-held regions of Ukraine, raising fears of an imminent full-scale invasion.

The U.S. and European Union responded with sanctions. Technology shares also weighed on the broader market. Bond yields rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 1.93%.

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WASHINGTON -- President Joe Biden says the U.S. will be sanctioning Russian oligarchs and their families, as well as Russian sovereign debt in retaliation for the country's invasion of Ukraine.

Speaking at the White House on Tuesday, Biden said those sanctions were just the "first tranche" of what the U.S. and its allies stand ready to put in place if Russia launches a larger invasion of Ukraine.

"He's setting up a rationale to take more territory by force," Biden said of recent comments by Russian President Vladimir Putin. "This is the beginning of a Russian invasion of Ukraine."

Biden added that he was authorizing the movement of some U.S. troops in Europe to NATO's Baltic allies as a show of support and solidarity amid the Russian threat.

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BERLIN -- Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has chaired a call of the G-7 nations in which ministers strongly condemned Russia's recognition of the separatist-controlled areas of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine and the decision to deploy Russian troops there.

Those involved included the foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the U.K. and the U.S., along with the European Union.

The German foreign ministry said Tuesday night that the G-7 foreign ministers agreed to step up restrictive measures responding to Russia's actions and reiterated their unwavering commitment to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders.

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BERLIN -- German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says Germany continues to rule out the delivery of arms to Ukraine despite Russian President Vladimir Putin's order to deploy troops to separatist regions of eastern Ukraine.

Scholz told German public broadcaster ARD on Tuesday night that Germany had made a decision to not export weapons to crisis regions a long time ago, "and we stick to that."

Scholz also pointed out that "Ukraine has a lot of weapons ... and the point is that we have to protect Ukraine not by giving more weapons, but by standing together as an international community and saying that we will not simply accept such a breach of international law." He stressed that Germany has been the biggest financial supporter of Ukraine since 2014.

The chancellor added "we must insist that the peace order in Europe is again based on the fact that borders are not moved and that the state sovereignty of countries is not questioned."

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BERLIN -- Protesters have flocked to the Russian embassy in Berlin to decry Russian President Vladimir Putin's order to deploy troops to separatist regions of eastern Ukraine.

People were waving yellow-blue Ukrainian flags and chanting "We stand united with Ukraine!" as they assembled in front of the building near the German capital's landmark Brandenburg Gate on Tuesday evening.

Some held up banners saying "Ukraine will resist," "Say no to Putin" or "Implement sanctions immediately," while others wrapped themselves into huge Ukrainian flags.

"I'm here to protest against Russia invading our independent Ukrainian territory," said Victoria Baron, 27, who moved from Odesa in Ukraine last summer to work for a data science company in Berlin.

"It's very important that we support our people even though we're abroad," she said adding that she talked to her family back home almost every day and spends hours on social media following the latest developments.

Baron was very worried about the future of Ukraine and said that she thought "that right now everything is possible" including Russian troops heading into mainland Ukraine.

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MOSCOW -- The Russian Foreign Ministry said that it has decided to evacuate Russian diplomatic personnel from Ukraine, pointing at threats.

The ministry said Tuesday that Russian diplomats in Ukraine have received multiple threats, adding that they will be evacuated "in the nearest time." It did not elaborate.

The move follows Russia's recognition of Ukraine's rebel regions and the Russian parliament's vote to grant President Vladimir Putin a permission to use military force in Ukraine.

The Ukrainian capital of Kyiv is only a three hour drive from the border of Belarus, where Russia has stationed troops for earlier war games.

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BRUSSELS - French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian says the European Union's 27 members unanimously agree on an initial set of sanctions targeting Russian officials involved in Ukraine.

EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said Tuesday this first package of sanctions “will hurt Russia and it will hurt a lot.”

He said the package would affect members of Russia's duma who voted against the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine as well as another 27 people and “entities” which are often companies, banks or agencies.

Borrell added that the package will also affect financing of policies linked to Ukraine by limiting access to EU financial markets.

Referring to Russian actions in Ukraine, Borrell said “this story is not finished.”

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BERLIN - Germany's top security official says authorities are preparing for possible cyberattacks in response to the crisis with Russia.

The Interior Ministry said Tuesday that security agencies have taken protective measures to avert such attacks and Germany's national cyber defence centre is monitoring developments.

Interior Minister Nancy Faser said on Twitter that authorities “are prepared for all conceivable impacts of this conflict.”

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BELVOIR CASTLE, England - Defence ministers from the Baltic states urged world leaders to move swiftly and impose harsh sanctions on Russia, saying their countries know firsthand the dangers of trying to appease a bully.

The Baltic countries' position on NATO's eastern flank was at the forefront of discussions Tuesday as defence ministers from the Joint Expeditionary Force met in central England. The U.K.-led force is a group of 10 nations designed to react more quickly in the event of threats like those now posed by Russia.

Latvian Defence Minister Artis Pabriks said in an interview with the Associated Press that world leaders must act swiftly to impose punishing sanctions or it will be too late to stand up for freedom and democracy.

He said failure to stop the Russian president's “aggression” now would send the message that Moscow can “play around with the Europeans” and the U.S.

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MOSCOW - Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for international recognition of Crimea as part of Russia, an end to Ukraine's NATO membership bid and a halt to weapons shipments there.

Putin claimed Tuesday that Russia's 2014 annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula should be internationally recognized as a legitimate reflection of the local population's choice, likening it to a vote for Kosovo independence.

The annexation has been widely condemned by Western powers as a breach of international law.

To end the current crisis, he also called for the renunciation of Ukraine's NATO bid, saying it should assume a “neutral status,” and said that the West should stop sending weapons there.

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BRUSSELS - NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says Russia is taking military action against Ukraine and has condemned Moscow's decision to recognize separatist areas of southeast Ukraine as independent.

Stoltenberg called the move Tuesday a “serious escalation by Russia and a flagrant violation of international law.” The NATO chief called the military action a “further invasion” of Ukraine by Russia which had already invaded its neighbour in 2014.

He added that there's “every indication” Russia continues to plan for a full-scale attack on Ukraine.

Stoltenberg said that NATO allies have more than 100 warplanes on high alert and more than 120 warships ready at sea from the Arctic Circle to the Mediterranean Sea.

He said that the NATO response force remains on high readiness but is not yet being deployed, although some allies are moving troops, ships and planes into the Baltic states and near the Black Sea to defend other NATO members.

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MOSCOW -- Russian lawmakers have given President Vladimir Putin permission to use military force outside the country.

The unanimous vote in Russia's upper house on Tuesday could presage a broader attack on Ukraine after the U.S. said an invasion was already underway there.

The vote formalizes a Russian military deployment to the rebel regions, where an eight-year conflict has killed nearly 14,000 people.

Several European leaders said earlier in the day that Russian troops have moved into rebel-held areas in eastern Ukraine after Putin recognized their independence.

But it was unclear how large the movements were. Ukraine and its Western allies have long said Russian troops are fighting in the region. Moscow denies those allegations.

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MOSCOW -- Russia's closest allies appeared reluctant to immediately back Moscow's decision to recognize the independence of rebel-held areas in eastern Ukraine.

The Foreign Ministry of Belarus said Tuesday it saw Russian President Vladimir Putin's move "with respect and understanding," but refrained from saying whether Minsk would follow suit and recognize the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk republics.

Officials in Kazakhstan whose president last month asked for a Russia-led security alliance to send troops to quell violent unrest, said the issue of recognizing the separatist regions was not on the country's agenda.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev who's in Moscow for talks with Putin, made no mention of Moscow's recognition of Donetsk and Luhansk in his publicly broadcast remarks, but focused instead on bilateral relations.

Another Russian ally, Armenia, has so far issued no message of support for the Russian move.

Meanwhile, Putin sought to reassure Russia's ex-Soviet allies that he doesn't envision resurrecting the Soviet Union. He told the Azerbaijani president that speculation that Russia would attempt to restore its empire "is absolutely not true."

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WASHINGTON -- The White House has begun referring to Russian troop deployments in eastern Ukraine as an "invasion" after initially hesitating to use the term -- a red line that U.S. President Joe Biden has said would result in the U.S. levying severe sanctions against Moscow.

Jon Finer, the principal deputy national security adviser, said Tuesday: "We think this is, yes, the beginning of an invasion, Russia's latest invasion into Ukraine." He said "latest" was important -- "an invasion is an invasion and that is what is under way."

The White House decided to begin referring to Russia's actions as an "invasion" because of the situation on the ground, according to a U.S. official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.

The administration resisted initially calling the deployment of troops because the White House wanted to see what Russia was actually going to do. The official added that, after assessing Russian troop movements, it became clear it was a new invasion.

-- By Aamer Madhani in Washington.

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BUDAPEST, Hungary -- Hungary's defence minister says the military will deploy soldiers and equipment to the region near the Ukrainian border to prepare for potential humanitarian and border protection operations.

Defence Minister Tibor Benko said Prime Minister Viktor Orban ordered the military to mobilize along the country's eastern border to prevent armed groups from potentially entering Hungarian territory, Hungarian state news agency MTI reported.

Benko said that he believed further escalation of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine could bring armed activity all the way to Ukraine's western border. He said Hungarian soldiers would need to be prepared for the possible arrival of Ukrainian refugees in the wake of a greater conflict.

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LONDON -- Prime Minister Boris Johnson says Britain is slapping sanctions on five Russian banks and three wealthy individuals over Russia's latest military moves on Ukraine.

Johnson told lawmakers that sanctions would hit Rossiya Bank, IS Bank, General Bank, Promsvyazbank and the Black Sea Bank.

He said three Russian oligarchs with interests in energy and infrastructure -- Gennady Timchenko, Boris Rotenberg and Igor Rotenberg -- will have their assets frozen and be banned from travelling to the U.K.

All three have already been sanctioned by the United States.

Johnson accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of "establishing the pretext for a full-scale offensive" against Ukraine and said "further powerful sanctions" would follow if that happened.

"This the first tranche, the first barrage of what we are prepared to do and we hold further sanctions at readiness to be deployed," Johnson told British lawmakers.

He also said that Russian tanks and armoured personnel carriers have been spotted in the separatist Ukrainian regions recognized as independent by Russian President Vladimir Putin. He said that amounts to "a renewed invasion" of Ukraine.

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BRUSSELS -- Top European Union officials say the bloc is set to impose sanctions on several Russian officials as well as banks financing the Russian armed forces. It also intends to limit Moscow's access to EU capital and financial markets.

A statement Tuesday said the move would "target those who were involved in the illegal decision" to recognize two rebel-held areas in eastern Ukraine. It didn't identify them.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU Council President Charles Michel said it would also "target trade from the two breakaway regions to and from the EU."

They said the restrictive measures would aim to limit "the ability of the Russian state and government to access the EU's capital and financial markets and services, to limit the financing of escalatory and aggressive policies."

EU foreign ministers are meeting later Tuesday to discuss the measures. The two leaders said that "the EU has prepared and stands ready to adopt additional measures at a later stage if needed in the light of further developments."

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BELVOIR CASTLE, England -- Latvia's defence minister has urged world leaders to act now to stop Russian aggression in Ukraine, arguing that sanctions must be swift and punishing or it would be too late to protect international security.

Defence Minister Artis Pabriks told The Associated Press on Tuesday that it was time for European countries and their allies to impose sanctions on Russia.

He said that "if we do fail to stop Mr. Putin now -- to stop his aggression -- and if we are not managing to force him to de-escalate now, then our global values will decrease and everybody will think that they can play around with the Europeans -- they can play around also with Americans."

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HELSINKI -- Finland's president says that, despite Russia's actions in Ukraine, he hasn't seen an increase in Russian military activity in the Baltic Sea, where many countries are suspicious of Moscow's intentions.

President Sauli Niinisto said Tuesday that "strangely enough, situation in the entire Baltic Sea area seems very calm and the number of Russian military equipment dispatched in the area is on the decline."

He said he doesn't currently see Finland, which is a member of the European Union but not NATO, facing a military threat from Russia. The two countries share a long border. But he stressed that Finland will pay close attention to Moscow's future actions outside Ukraine.

Niinisto said he didn't know why Russian has "now simply decided to settle the Ukraine situation that has been going on for some seven, eight years."

He said one reason may be Russia has noticed "that Ukraine has been strengthening year-by-year and is continuing to do so."

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BERLIN -- German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says Russian President Vladimir Putin may be looking for a pretext to occupy the whole of Ukraine.

Scholz said Tuesday that his and other countries made clear at a UN Security Council meeting that Moscow "has no support in the world" for its decision to recognize the independence of rebel-held regions in eastern Ukraine.

He said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy "deserves our highest respect for his country not letting itself be provoked by Russia, because the Russian president is waiting for just that to have a pretext possibly to occupy all of Ukraine."

Scholz made the comment during an appearance in Berlin at which he announced the suspension of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany.

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BERLIN -- Chancellor Olaf Scholz says Germany has taken steps to halt the process of certifying the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia.

Scholz told reporters in Berlin on Tuesday that his government was taking the measure in response to Moscow's actions in Ukraine.

The pipeline bringing natural gas from Russia to Germany has long been criticized by the United States and some European countries who argue that it increases Europe's reliance on Russian energy supplies.

Scholz said that the government had decided to "reassess" the certification of the pipeline, which hasn't begun operating yet.

"That will certainly take time, if I may say so," he said.

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MOSCOW -- Russia says its recognition of independence for areas in eastern Ukraine extends to territory currently held by Ukrainian forces.

The statement Tuesday further raises the stakes amid Western fears that Moscow could follow up on Monday's recognition of rebel regions with a full-fledged invasion of Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia has recognized the rebel regions' independence "in borders that existed when they proclaimed" their independence in 2014.

Ukrainian forces later reclaimed control of large part of both regions during a nearly eight-year conflict that has killed over 14,000 people.

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DAMASCUS, Syria -- Syria's foreign minister has praised Russia's recognition of the independence of rebel regions in eastern Ukraine, describing it as a step "toward defending world peace."

Faisal Mekdad spoke during a visit to Moscow. He said that "we have been cooperating with the republics of Donetsk and Luhansk for a long time, and we believe that these current conditions will help increase this cooperation," Syria's state news agency SANA reported.

Also Tuesday, President Bashar Assad's office released a statement saying that the Syrian president received in December a delegation of Russian legislators, including representatives from the Donetsk region, and told them at the time that Damascus "is ready to recognize the Republic of Donetsk and an agreement was reached to start relations with it."

Russia has been a main backer of Assad's government during the Arab country's decade-old conflict. Russian military intervention since September 2015 has helped tip the balance of power in Assad's favour.

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BELGRADE, Serbia - Most of the leaders in the war-scarred Balkans condemned Russia's decision to recognize two separatist regions in eastern Ukraine, while Serbia's president said he fears pressure to join Western sanctions against his Kremlin allies.

"There are now many challenges (for Serbia) of political, security and economic nature," Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic said. "The political pressures will be greater than ever."

Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic, who led the small Adriatic state to NATO membership in 2017 despite strong opposition from Russia, gave his support to Ukraine.

"Montenegro confirms its unanimous support of the independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders," said Djukanovic.

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic also slammed Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision, as did Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa.

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ATHENS, Greece -- Greece's government says it is drawing up plans to assist some 100,000 ethnic Greeks who live in eastern Ukraine.

Andreas Katsaniotis, a deputy foreign minister for Greek communities abroad, said consular services had been enhanced in the Ukrainian port of Mariupol, where the ethnic Greek community is based.

Plans to assist members of that community were the subject of an emergency meeting convened Tuesday by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis with top defence, energy and foreign policy officials. Asked if there was a plan to evacuate ethnic Greeks from the region, Katsaniotis told state television: "Of course, but we still haven't reached that situation."

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VIENNA -- Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer says his country has summoned the Russian ambassador to protest Moscow's breach of Ukraine's sovereignty.

Nehammer said Austria supports the EU's approach of imposing sanctions against Russia step by step, starting with a formal decision Tuesday afternoon by the bloc's foreign ministers.

"There is a variety of sanctions options that now need to be used in a targeted way because we have to assume that we haven't yet reached the peak of the escalation," he told reporters in Vienna.

Nehammer also assured Austrians that even if Russia were to stop delivering natural gas immediately, "the energy supply is secure."

Authorities in Vienna are also stepping up surveillance of potential cyberthreats to Austrian government institutions. The country's foreign ministry was targeted in a cyberattack two years ago that was traced to Russia.

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ANKARA, Turkey -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Russia's decision to recognize two separatist regions in eastern Ukraine is "unacceptable" and is calling for a respect of international laws.

Speaking to Turkish journalists during a three-nation tour of Africa, Erdogan said the decision was a clear violation of Ukraine's political unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity.

"We consider this decision by Russia as being unacceptable," Erdogan said. "We reiterate our call to the parties to respect common sense and international law."

His comments were reported by Hurriyet newspaper and other media.

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BELVOIR CASTLE, England -- U.K. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has warned of worrying signs that Russia has begun to move forces into Ukraine as he opened a conference of defence ministers from Baltic and North Atlantic states.

Wallace issued the warning to a meeting of defence ministers from the nations of the Joint Expeditionary Force on Tuesday in Leicestershire, England, though he said reports of military equipment moving into Ukraine's Donbas region would need to be verified.

"Many of us were forewarning that President Putin already had an agenda -- you heard that agenda in his speech last night," Wallace said, referring to Putin's decision to recognize two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine. "This is a sovereign state which has now had some of its land effectively annexed from it."

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SANAA, Yemen -- Yemen's Houthi rebels have welcomed Russia's decision to recognize two separatist regions in southeast Ukraine.

Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, the head of the rebels' Supreme Revolutionary Committees, said late Monday that the Iranian-backed Houthis support the recognition of Donetsk and Luhansk as independent republics. He called for restraint to avoid sliding into a war.

The Houthis have been in war against a Saudi-led coalition since 2015, months after the rebels overran Yemen's capital, Sanaa, and ousted the internationally recognized government.

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HELSINKI -- The Baltic nations of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have strongly condemned Russia's decision to recognize the separatist regions of Luhansk and Donetsk as independent states.

Estonian President Alar Karis said that "Russia tore the Minsk agreements into pieces," referring to a 2015 peace deal. He said "this shows that Moscow's aim is to deepen the conflict, not to solve it."

In Baltic neighbour Latvia, President Egils Levits, Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins and the country's Parliament released a joint statement condemning Moscow's actions.

The statement said that "in a gross violation of international law, under a fabricated pretext, and by spreading false information, Russia seeks to induce a change in Ukraine's political leadership and foreign policy course by violent means."

Lithuania Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte tweeted that Russia President Vladimir "Putin just put Kafka & Orwell to shame: no limits to dictator's imagination, no lows too low, no lies too blatant, no red lines too red to cross."

She added: "What we witnessed (Monday evening) might seem surreal for democratic world. But the way we respond will define us for the generations to come."

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BRUSSELS -- European Union foreign ministers will meet Tuesday to decide what sanctions to impose over Russia's decision to recognize two separatist regions in southeast Ukraine, the EU's top diplomat said.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the meeting in Paris "will take the political decisions vis-a-vis the European response."

"Clearly, that response will be in the form of sanctions," Borrell said. He said the aim is not to impose the whole range of sanctions that the EU has prepared should Russian invade Ukraine, but rather to address the recognition of Donetsk and Luhansk as independent.

Asked whether Russia's decision to send "peacekeepers" in already amounts to an invasion, Borrell said, "I wouldn't say that's a fully fledged invasion, but Russian troops are on Ukrainian soil."

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LONDON -- Prime Minister Boris Johnson says the U.K. will introduce "immediate" economic sanctions against Russia, and warned that President Vladimir Putin is bent on "a full-scale invasion of Ukraine."

Johnson said Putin had "completely torn up international law" and British sanctions would target not just the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk but "Russian economic interests as hard as we can."

Johnson is to set out further details of the sanctions in the House of Commons later Tuesday.

He told broadcasters that this would be "just the first barrage of U.K. economic sanctions against Russia because we expect, I'm afraid, that there is more Russian irrational behaviour to come."

"I'm afraid all the evidence is that President Putin is indeed bent on a full-scale invasion of the Ukraine, the overrunning, the subjugation of an independent, sovereign European country and I think, let's be absolutely clear, that would be absolutely catastrophic."