Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday he was considering severing diplomatic ties with Russia after it recognized two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine and ordered the deployment of Russian forces to "keep the peace."
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
The Foreign Ministry requested I examine the possibility, Zelenskyy said, adding he would now begin "work on the matter."
In the aftermath of the deployment, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said his country will "immediately institute a package of economic sanctions" on Russia.
"This is, I should stress, just the first barrage of UK economic sanctions against Russia because we expect I'm afraid that there is more Russian irrational behavior to come," he said.
The sanctions would be "targeted not just at entities in Donbas and Luhansk and Donetsk, but in Russia itself – targeting Russian economic interests as hard as we can."
Britain has threatened to cut off Russian companies' access to US dollars and British pounds, blocking them from raising capital in London and exposing what Johnson calls the "Russian doll" of property and company ownership.
Russia's once-mighty superpower economy is now smaller than Italy's based on International Monetary Fund data, with a nominal GDP of around $1.7 trillion.
Also on Tuesday, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said, "The Kremlin has taken another step in restoring the Soviet Union." Posting on his ministry's website, he said Ukrainian troops were getting ready for war.
"There will be hardship. There will be losses. We will have to endure pain, overcome fear and despair," he said, promising, nevertheless, a "certain victory" in the face of the Russian threat.
Similarly, British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace warned of worrying signs that Russia has begun to move forces into Ukraine as he opened a conference of defense ministers from Baltic and North Atlantic states.
Wallace issued the warning to a meeting of defense 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," he said, referring to Putin's decision to recognize two breakaway regions. "This is a sovereign state which has now had some of its land effectively annexed from it."
World leaders condemned Putin after he ordered his forces into the separatist regions as leaders voiced strong support for Ukraine's sovereignty, along with worries about how a war in Europe could hurt global and local economies and endanger foreign nationals trapped in Ukraine.
"Ukraine's sovereignty and territory must be respected," South Korean President Moon Jae-in said on Tuesday. "A military clash against the wishes of the international community ... would bring huge ramifications in the politics and economies of not only Europe but to the whole world."
A conflict could devastate Ukraine and cause huge economic damage across Europe, which is heavily dependent on Russian energy. But Asian nations are also worried.
Moon instructed his officials to prepare for the economic fallout in South Korea if the Ukraine crisis worsens and US-backed nations levy stringent economic sanctions on Russia.
South Korea's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Choi Young-sam said diplomats were trying to persuade 63 of its nationals who currently remain in Ukraine to leave.
Some nations publicly signaled a willingness to pursue punishment.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida criticized Russia for violating Ukrainian territorial integrity and said his country would discuss possible "severe actions," including sanctions, with the international community.
Putin's "actions are unacceptable, and we express our strong condemnation," Kishida told reporters Tuesday. "Japan is watching the development with grave concern."
Japan has a separate territorial dispute with Moscow over four Russian-controlled northern islands taken at the end of World War II. The standoff has prevented the signing of a peace treaty between the two sides.
New Zealand Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta said there was no basis under international law for Putin to recognize the Ukrainian separatist regions.
"We are concerned that this is a calculated act by President Putin to create a pretext for invasion, which would be a clear act of aggression. We again call for urgent diplomatic efforts to find a peaceful resolution," Mahuta said in a statement.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Russia should "unconditionally withdraw" from Ukrainian territory and stop threatening its neighbors. Morrison said Russia's actions were "unacceptable; it's unprovoked, it's unwarranted."
"It is important that like-minded countries who denounce this sort of behavior do stick together, and I can assure you that the moment that other countries put in place strong and severe sanctions on Russia, we will be in lockstep with them and we will be moving just as quickly," he said.
The threat of new sanctions underscores the West's difficulty in preventing a military conflict that's long been portrayed as inevitable.
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
NATO-member Turkey, which has close ties with both Ukraine and Russia, criticized Russia's decision to recognize the independence of the regions in eastern Ukraine.
A Turkish Foreign Ministry statement released Tuesday said: "We find this decision by Russia unacceptable and reject it."
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke by phone with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba to reaffirm US support for Ukraine.
The White House issued an executive order to restrict investment and trade in the separatist regions, and additional measures — likely sanctions — were to be announced Tuesday. Those sanctions are independent of what Washington has prepared in the event of a Russian invasion, according to a senior administration official who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity.
Addressing the nation amid the Russian threat, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, "It is very important now to see who is our real friend and partner, and who will continue 'scaring' the Russian Federation with words.
"We are on our land. We don't fear anything or anyone. We don't owe anything to anyone. And we won't give anything up," he said, adding that Ukraine's borders were well-protected and that it deserves the right to defend itself from "further Russian aggression."
