UK Edition
Joe Biden has said that Vladimir Putin has started to invade Ukraine and is preparing to go much further into the country, potentially bringing “untold suffering to millions of people” in an all-out war.
The US president said: “This is the beginning of a Russian invasion of Ukraine. He's setting up a rationale to go much further.”
Mr Biden announced plans to sanction Russian banks and oligarchs, as well as “cut off” the Russian government from Western financing.
Mr Putin escalated the prospects of a devastating conflict as he backed the territorial claims of pro-Russian separatists over the entire regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, in eastern Ukraine.
His recognition of the expanded borders of Donetsk and Luhansk, not just the one-third of those regions the separatists control, increased the risk as it laid claim to more Ukrainian territory.
Western officials increasingly believe Mr Putin wants to launch a full invasion, a move which could lead to thousands of casualties.
Boris Johnson was briefed by senior military and intelligence figures on the Ukraine crisis at a Cobra meeting early on Tuesday morning.
The Russian president said it was “impossible to predict” how far into Ukraine his troops would go, adding that it would “depend on the specific situation on the ground”.
It came as a wave of new sanctions were announced by the United States, Britain, Japan and the European Union, including a decision by Germany to halt certification of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia.
Mr Biden called Mr Putin's assertion that Donetsk and Luhansk were no longer part of Ukraine “bizarre”. He accused the Russian president of offering a “twisted” version of history.
Mr Biden said: “If Russia goes further with its invasion, we stand prepared to go further with sanctions. Russia will pay an even steeper price if it continues its aggression.”
Gas prices jumped after Germany said it would not proceed with Nord Stream 2, threatening steeper bills for consumers and higher petrol prices.
Mr Biden said Americans may experience increased energy prices, adding: “Defending freedom will have costs.”
Mr Putin said the only way for Ukraine to end the crisis was to give up ambitions to join Nato, to declare neutrality, “demilitarise” and give up any claim to Crimea.
He said: “We expect, and I want to underline this, that all the difficult questions will be solved during negotiations” between Kyiv and the separatist leadership.
Footage online purported to show Russian diplomats burning dossiers outside the embassy in Odessa as Moscow ordered its remaining consular staff to leave Ukraine and its legislature voted to approve the deployment of troops outside Russia.
Convoys of military vehicles were seen heading towards the Ukrainian border, including “Rosgvardia” or national guard units that analysts believe would be used to occupy territory held against the will of local people.
Oleksiy Reznikov, the Ukrainian defence minister, said the country's troops should get ready for war. He said: “There will be hardship. There will be losses. We will have to endure pain, overcome fear and despair.”
Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, accused Russia of destroying the chance for peace. He said Ukraine would make no territorial concessions.
In an address to the nation, he said: “We are committed to the peaceful and diplomatic path, we will follow it and only it. But we are on our own land, we are not afraid of anything and anybody, we owe nothing to no one and we will give nothing to no one.”
In the southern coastal city of Mariupol on Tuesday, hundreds of Ukrainians protested against Russia's territorial grab. The city sits inside the expanded borders recognised by Mr Putin and as a result is at an even greater risk of invasion.
Citizens of the Ukrainian-held parts of Donetsk and Luhansk told The Telegraph on Tuesday that they were buying weapons in anticipation of a Russian attempt to capture their homes.
“We’re going to go and see where we can get a gun or two - or a machine gun,” said 56-year-old Valentina Buchok.
One Ukrainian television channel reported unverified rumours on Tuesday that separatists had been given an order to advance.
The US initially declined to call Mr Putin's decision to send “peacekeeping” forces into Donetsk and Luhansk an “invasion”. But Mr Biden later said: “Russia has now undeniably moved against Ukraine.
“Who in the Lord’s name does Putin think gives him the right to declare new so-called countries on territory that belongs to his neighbours? This is a flagrant violation of international law.”
He said Mr Putin was “carving out a chunk of Ukraine”, adding: “We still believe that Russia is poised to go much further and launch a massive military attack against Ukraine.”
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced he would no longer meet Russian Foreign Secretary Sergei Lavrov as planned on Thursday, saying that now that the invasion had begun "it doesn't make sense".
The US president also announced sanctions on Russian banks, which were expected to be the first of a “wave” of measures.
Mr Biden said he was imposing “full blocking” on two large Russian financial institutions and “comprehensive sanctions” on Russian debt.
He said he would soon impose sanctions on “Russia’s elites and their family members”, because they should “share the pain”.
Mr Biden has indicated he wants to spare ordinary Russians from sanctions. Instead, the US will target industrial sectors such as aviation, artificial intelligence, quantum computing and defence.
It can also stop shipments of computers, consumer electronics and telecommunications equipment, made anywhere in the world if they were produced using US technology.
The US president added: “I have authorised additional movements of US forces and equipment, already stationed in Europe, to strengthen our Baltic allies, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. There is still time to avert the worst case scenario that will bring untold suffering to millions of people.”
On Tuesday, The Pentagon said it was moving “up to eight” F-35 fighter jets “to several operating locations along Nato's eastern flank”. It was also sending 20 Apache attack helicopters “to the Baltic region” and 12 Apaches to Poland.
Boris Johnson earlier unveiled sanctions of five Russian banks and three Russian oligarchs. A much longer list of oligarchs was under consideration, The Telegraph understands, with officials keen to keep some measures in reserve to apply if Russia indeed pushes further into Ukraine.
The three “very high net wealth individuals” were Gennady Timchenko, Boris Rotenberg and Igor Rotenberg, who Mr Johnson described as “cronies” of the Russian president. Sanctions were also imposed against Russian banks Rossiya, IS Bank, General Bank, Promsvyazbank and the Black Sea Bank.
Andrei Kelin, Russian ambassador to the UK, was told his country would “pay the price for its actions” after he was summoned to the Foreign Office.
Critics urged Mr Johnson to do more immediately. Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former Conservative leader, said: “I commend what he has done so far but, if we are going to hit them with sanctions, we need to hit them hard and hit them now. They need to feel the pain of the first part of this decision.”
Mr Johnson also suggested the Champions League final should be moved from St Petersburg, saying there should be “no chance of holding football tournaments in a Russia that invades sovereign countries”.
Sir Keir Starmer welcomed British sanctions, but said the UK “must be prepared to go further”. The Labour leader called for Russia to be excluded from the global SWIFT payment system.
Amid fears of a flood of refugees from Ukraine, the US announced it was helping Poland set up reception centres. Hungary said it would deploy some troops near its border.
Poland indicated it was ready to welcome fleeing Ukrainians.
After talks with Bartosz Grodecki, Poland’s deputy interior minister, Ylva Johansson - the EU’s home affairs commissioner - said: “I must say that I’m quite convinced that Poland is quite well prepared to welcome a lot of Ukrainians if necessary.”
Video footage showed Russian troops and armoured vehicles moving into eastern Ukraine on Tuesday. One video appeared to show Russian Howitzer artillery units and troop carriers moving through Donetsk.
The Donetsk People's Militia has reportedly told residents not to take photographs and video of the troops' movements.
In the US, Donald Trump said the invasion of Ukraine would never have happened if he was still president.
Mr Trump said he “knew Vladimir Putin well” and Mr Biden's response had been “weak”.
He said due to the effect of an invasion on energy prices Mr Putin would become “richer and richer”.