Ukraine’s parliament has imposed a national state of emergency aimed at helping to forge a response to the threat of a Russian invasion. The measure was overwhelmingly approved on the same day that Moscow began to evacuate its Kyiv embassy and Washington stepped up its warnings about the chances of an all-out Russian attack. The state of emergency allows Ukraine’s regional governments to adopt heightened security measures that range from tighter ID and vehicle checks to more stringent policing.
They apply to all parts of Ukraine except for two Russian-backed eastern separatist regions where a deadly insurgency has killed more than 14,000 people in the past two years.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recognition of the eastern provinces’ independence on Monday sharply ramped up fears of an imminent war. Putin has signed decrees allowing the deployment of Russian “peacekeeping” forces into rebel territories to back up the independence claims. The Russian leader said that his decision to send in the troops will “depend on the situation on the ground”.
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