Ukraine has introduced a state of emergency on Wednesday in its recent move as the United States, and its allies have increased the pressure on Russia with sanctions and the threat of more to come, the latest signals that the West fears a full-scale invasion are likely to be in the coming time.
Kyiv has until now been more relaxed on the threat of war but displayed increasing urgency, with Russian President Vladimir Putin showing almost no sign of stepping back from the brink of a deadly new conflict in Europe.
Hopes for a diplomatic resolution to the crisis appeared all but over, emphasising instead on punishing the Kremlin for the moves it has already made and prepared for those Washington and Europe fear will soon follow.
Russia has pushed back against the West’s sanctions and given no signs that it would withdraw over 150,000 military personnel that it has deployed around its neighbours’ border.
On Wednesday, the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine has asked the country’s parliament to impose a state of emergency for an initial 30 days. The government has also implored all the Ukrainian nationals to evacuate Russian and has started conscripting reservists between the age group of 18 and 60.
As per the recent data, the number of Ukrainians living in Russia are between 1.9 million and 3 million.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s top security official, Oleksiy Danilov, while asking lawmakers to approve the state of emergency, said, “We are aware of the risks that exist from the Russian Federation; we clearly understand that our army is ready to fight back.”
The moves follow an escalation in the ongoing conflict in the country’s east and a highly provocative set of moves from Moscow.
At the same time, Putin said on Tuesday that, “Russia’s recognition of two regions in eastern Ukraine controlled by Russian-backed separatists stretched to large swaths of territory held by the Ukrainian military. The move further raised concerns on a broader armed conflict could break out as Russian troops move in, and came after the Russian leader gained parliamentary approval to use his armed forces abroad.