Putin sends soldiers into eastern Ukraine's pro-Russian territories.

Just hours after signing decrees recognizing the independence of Moscow-backed territories, Russian President Vladimir Putin has sent soldiers into separatist-held parts of eastern Ukraine for a "peacekeeping" mission, according to the Kremlin.

It's unclear whether Russian troop movements signaled the start of a Ukrainian invasion that Western leaders have been warning against for weeks. However, several US and Western officials warned that Monday's move might be the start of a bigger military operation against the country.
Putin's designation of pro-Moscow regions, US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said Monday evening at a UN Security Council emergency meeting, was an "effort to construct a pretext for a future invasion."

She dismissed his claim that Russian troops are approaching certain areas as "peacekeepers."
"We know exactly who they are," Thomas-Greenfield explained.
Putin slammed Kyiv's expanding security links with the West in a furious speech earlier Monday, and attempted to put doubt on Ukraine's right to self-determination in long statements about the USSR's history and the founding of the Ukrainian Socialist Soviet Republic.
He described the eastern section of the country as "old Russian territory," saying, "Ukraine has never had traditions of its statehood."

The orders issued by Putin acknowledged Moscow's official recognition of the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic, both of which are located in eastern Ukraine's Donbas area (DPR and LPR). The decrees acknowledged them as autonomous states and pledged Russian troops to protect them. Russian so-called peacekeeping soldiers would be deployed in the territories, according to the regulations.

The speech, according to a senior US administration official, was intended to "justify war" to the Russian people and amounted to "an attack on the very idea of a sovereign and independent Ukraine" by making "several bogus allegations" to justify military action.
"Another Russian invasion and occupation will have horrific human repercussions," the official added.
Ukraine's President, Volodymyr Zelensky, addressed the nation early Tuesday, warning that Russia's activities violate the country's "national integrity and sovereignty," and that the country's international borders will "stay as they are."
"We're on our turf." We don't have a fear of anything or anyone. We owe no one anything, and we will not give anything away to anyone. In his video message, Zelensky stated, "And we are convinced of this."

Russia claims to be safeguarding Donbas inhabitants.
Moscow has long supported separatists in eastern Ukraine, according to US, NATO, and Ukrainian officials, who believe Moscow provides them with advisory support and intelligence, as well as embedding its personnel in their ranks. Russia has consistently denied having troops on the ground.
In recent years, Moscow has handed hundreds of thousands of Russian passports to residents of Donbas, in an attempt by Putin to establish facts on the ground by naturalizing Ukrainians as Russian citizens. Although the Ukrainian government claims the two districts have been effectively Russian-occupied since the conflict in eastern Ukraine began in 2014, Kyiv and the West believe that the region is part of Ukrainian sovereignty.

Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia portrayed Moscow's recognition of the two territories as a means of defending Russian-speaking residents of Donetsk and Luhansk from what he called Ukrainian aggression. Nebenzia stated recognition of those regions had not come "suddenly" in a statement to the UN Security Council.
"It's worth noting that the DPR and LPR declared their independence from Ukraine in 2014. Despite widespread support in both the republics and Russian society from the start, we only recognize them today "he stated.

In remarks to the Security Council, his Ukrainian colleague Sergiy Kyslytsya asked that Russia withdraw its recognition of the areas and return to the bargaining table.
Putin's decision to recognize the separatist regions was dubbed "a flagrant attack on Ukraine's sovereignty" by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken earlier Monday. Following that, US President Joe Biden signed an executive order forbidding new investment, commerce, and funding from, to, and in the "so-called Donetsk People's Republic of Luhansk People's Republic territories" by US citizens.
The directive also gives the US the authority to impose penalties on anyone operating in specified areas.

French President Emmanuel Macron has asked the European Union to impose targeted penalties on Russia, while British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has stated that further measures against Russia will be announced on Tuesday. "Its actions would have significant economic ramifications," UK Ambassador to the United Nations Barbara Woodward told the Security Council on Monday.
"Any gathered Russian units moving across the Ukrainian border is an invasion," Biden stated last month, and would be responded with a "severe and planned economic response."

Putin's rhetoric has become more aggressive.
Putin held a highly orchestrated televised conference with his top officials on Monday, accusing Kyiv of aggressive behavior.
During the previously unannounced meeting of the Russian security council, which was broadcast on television in an unusually theatrical setting, Putin also accused the West of threats and blackmail.
The show aired just hours after the White House claimed that US President Joe Biden had agreed "in principle" to discussions with Putin mediated by France, as long as Russia did not invade Ukraine again. There were "no solid intentions" for a meeting, the Kremlin said early Monday.

Putin, who had two lengthy phone chats with Macron on Sunday, expressed skepticism about the possibility of negotiations with Biden.

"I spoke with the French President twice yesterday, the second call extending until around 2:00 a.m. He told me that the US position had shifted slightly. However, when I inquired what these adjustments were, he was unable to provide an answer "Putin stated the following.
He then referenced nken's comments from Sunday, in which he reiterated that Ukraine's NATO membership is "a matter for Ukraine and NATO."
One of the Kremlin's main requests is assurances that Ukraine will not be accepted to NATO in the future.

Putin's confrontational tone has risen as tensions in eastern Ukraine have risen.
As of 4 p.m. local time Monday, Ukraine's Joint Forces Operation had reported 32 ceasefire violations, largely in line with those during the weekend.
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry claimed it detected hundreds of ceasefire violations on Sunday, based on new satellite pictures showing increased activity among Russian units near Ukraine's north-eastern border.