Introduction

The president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, has ordered Russian troops to cross the border into eastern Ukraine on what he claims is a “peacekeeping mission” in defence of the breakaway states of Donetsk and Luhansk. Western leaders have condemned the move as the beginning of an invasion and imposed a first round of sanctions on Moscow, which have been widely criticised as not being punitive enough.

Emily Tamkin and Katie Stallard in Washington, DC are joined by Ido Vock in Berlin to discuss this dangerous new phase of the conflict, where China stands, and what might happen next.

Then in You Ask Us, a listener asks if, retrospectively, we will see any difference between this invasion of Ukraine and the 2014 annexation of Crimea, and whether there are any lasting reprisals that would destabilise Putin or cause him to withdraw.

Further reading:

Jeremy Cliffe reports Russia’s attack on Ukraine’s Donbas is a grotesque parody of humanitarian intervention.

Ido Vock on Putin ordering Russian troops into Ukraine.

Andrew Marr on why London’s response to Vladimir Putin is pathetically inadequate. 

Michael Colborne on why silence won’t make the Ukrainian far right go away.

Katie Stallard reports how Putin is confronting Ukraine and the West with a terrible choice.

Paul Mason in Kyiv calls on the left to stand with Ukraine against Putin’s aggression.

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