Australia imposes sanctions on Russia after Vladimir Putin rolls tanks into Ukraine: Scott Morrison says ‘we will stand up to bullies’
Australia has announced sanctions on Russia after Vladimir Putin rolled tanks into Ukraine.
Scott Morrison said Australia ‘stands up to bullies’ as he announced the sanctions follow a cabinet meeting on Wednesday morning.
The Russian President on Monday night signed a decree recognising two parts of Ukraine controlled by pro-Russian fighters as sovereign states and ordered his forces to enter to ‘keep the peace’.
Western allies fear this will pave the way for a full-scale invasion of Ukraine – which President Putin described as ‘ancient Russian lands’ in a speech on Monday.
Putin is thought to have moved thousands of troops into rebel-held areas of eastern Ukraine on Tuesday (dark red area on the map), but there are fears he will try to seize control of the wider regions that separatists lay claim to (lighter shade area)
Russian artillery pieces are pictured in Rostov-on-Don, on the Russian side of the Ukrainian border, on Tuesday – as Vladimir Putin ordered his forces to advance on to Ukrainian territory
It is thought more than 10,000 Russian troops have now moved into rebel-held areas of Donetsk and Luhansk, with videos revealing columns of tanks rolling through the streets in the early hours.
Putin denied that Russia has already sent in troops but vowed that he will ‘fulfil its obligations’ if necessary. He also issued a fresh list of demands to Ukraine – calling on Kiev to drop its NATO bid, declare neutrality, ‘demilitarize’, and negotiate directly with separatists. It is expected the demands will be rejected out of hand.
US President Joe Biden announced he was moving additional American troops, fighter jets and helicopters to Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania on NATO’s eastern flank as a defensive move and imposing heavy financial sanctions against Russian banks and oligarchs.
On Tuesday Mr Morrison urged President Putin to withdraw his order to send troops into Ukraine.
Speaking on the campaign trail in Tasmania on Tuesday morning, Mr Morrison said the suggestion these troops would enter to keep peace was ‘nonsense’.
This handout video grab released by the Russian Defence Ministry on February 21, 2022, shows bombing during joint exercises of the armed forces of Russia and Belarus at a firing range near Brest
Russian President Vladimir Putin signs a document recognising the independence of separatist regions in eastern Ukraine in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, on Monday
‘Russia should step back. It should unconditionally withdraw, back behind its own borders and stop threatening its neighbours,’ he said.
Referring to Russia’s 2008 war with Georgia, he said: ‘We’ve seen this behaviour before and seeking to take opportunity to threaten a neighbour for their own advantage is just simply not on.
‘Is unacceptable, it’s unprovoked, it’s unwarranted, and Russia should understand that by seeking to invade another country, that this cannot advantage them and it would seriously and significantly cost Russia.
Mr Morrison said he hopes for a peaceful solution but warned that Australia will support the West in imposing sanctions on Russia.
‘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,’ he said.
Mr Putin has been building up troops on the Ukrainian border since November. He fears the pro-European Ukrainian government will join the anti-Russian alliance NATO and wants to prevent this.
Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union until its collapse in 1991 and Mr Putin describes it as ‘historical Russia’.
The two separatists areas in eastern Ukraine – which have experienced fighting since 2014 – are the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Lugansk People’s Republic.
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