REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko
- Video footage suggests the Russian military is already deep in two pro-Moscow regions of Ukraine.
- Putin declared the regions as independent on Monday and ordered a "peacekeeping" mission.
- Western powers believe the move is likely a precursor to a comprehensive invasion of Ukraine.
Video footage shot Monday night appears to show Russian armed forces and tanks active deep in the pro-Moscow Donbas region of Ukraine.
Late Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the military to march into the Donbas on what the Kremlin described as a "peacekeeping" mission.
Hours earlier, Putin had recognized the independence of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) following a rubber-stamp meeting of his security council,
The republics declared independence from Ukraine in 2014, and have been controlled by Kremlin-backed separatists ever since.
Reports and video footage from both major news outlets and Russian state-run media suggest Putin's forces are already deep in the regions, which Western powers still consider part of Ukraine.
Early Tuesday morning, Reuters published footage that it said showed Russian "tanks and other military hardware on the outskirts of Donetsk."
—Reuters (@Reuters) February 22, 2022
Late Monday night, Alain Barluet, Moscow correspondent for French newspaper Le Figaro, tweeted a video of what he said were Russia tanks moving toward the city of Donetsk.
Al-Jazeera also published footage of what it said were Russian military vehicles in Donetsk.
—Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) February 22, 2022
The Russian state media outlet Interfax reported early Tuesday morning that two columns of unspecified armored vehicles were seen entering the DPR and heading north and west.
Western officials have also confirmed the incursion.
"Russian troops have entered Donbas," Josep Borrell, the EU's top diplomat told reporters.
Ukraine's ambassador to the UK Vadym Prystaiko told radio station LBC Tuesday: "People on the ground will see Russian soldiers on their streets."
"We have seen that Putin has recognised breakaway eastern regions in Ukraine and from the reports we can already tell that he has sent in tanks and troops," UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid said on Sky News Tuesday.
Western officials fear Putin will use the incursion into the Donbas as a springboard for launching a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in an address to his nation early Tuesday morning, however, said he is "not afraid" and "will not concede anything to anyone."
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken issued a statement Monday condemning Russia's actions.
The decision to recognize the independence of the "so-called 'Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics'" is a "clear attack on Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity," Blinken said.
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