Darkness falls

The decision by an isolated and angry Vladimir Putin to send Russian troops over the Ukrainian border will change the security architecture in Europe and may well lead to a horrific war

- Julian Borger WASHINGTON and Andrew Roth MOSCOW

Russia faced western sanctions and bitter condemnation at the United Nations after Vladimir Putin ordered troops over the Ukrainian border into Moscowcontrolled territories in the east of the country, which he had recognised hours earlier.

The decision by the Russian president to dispatch his troops to perform “peacekeeping duties” was viewed in Ukraine and by other western allies as an occupation of the region and seemed certain to trigger tough sanctions and a Ukrainian military response. Both the US and UK believe that the Russian entry into the eastern tip of Ukraine is a precursor for a more sweeping invasion.

“This is the moment – the moment to stand up and defend the United Nations and our international order as we know it,” Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US ambassador to the UN, said. She cast doubt on Putin’s assertion that the Russian troops would take on a “peacekeeping” role in the Donetsk and Lu hansk areas. “He calls them peacekeepers. This is nonsense. We know what they really are,” she said.

The US withdrew its remaining diplomats in Ukraine on Monday, deploying them to Poland, as Putin’s move rattled markets around the world.

The UK’s ambassador, Dame Barbara Woodward, told the UN meeting: “Russia has brought us to the brink.” She warned that an invasion would unleash “the forces of war, death and destruction” on the people of Ukraine.

Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, appealed for strong sanctions as the only way of stalling further Russian encroachment.