Al Jazeera obtained exclusive photos showing the entry of Russian military convoys into the Donetsk and Lugansk regions (eastern Ukraine), after Moscow recognized them as separate republics from Ukraine, while the United Nations Security Council holds an emergency public meeting to discuss the Russian decision.

The Kremlin said that Russian President Vladimir Putin had asked the Defense Ministry to agree with Donetsk and Luhansk on what would allow Russia to enter to ensure peace in them, according to a decree published early Tuesday.

Al-Jazeera correspondent said that Russian military convoys crossed the border towards Donetsk and Lugansk, and Russian media were quoted as saying that two military convoys headed to the two regions.

The reporter revealed that the Russian agreement with Donetsk and Luhansk is for a period of 10 years, subject to automatic extension.


The Kremlin also revealed that Putin also asked the Foreign Ministry to start consultations with the "Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk" to establish diplomatic relations.

Al-Jazeera correspondent in Moscow stated that Russia said that it pledges to guarantee the work of financial and banking institutions in accordance with its agreement with Donetsk and Lugansk.

He added that the financial transactions will be in Russian rubles in accordance with the Russian agreement with them.

recognition of independence

On Monday evening, Putin announced his country's recognition of the independence of the separatist regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, and signed two decrees recognizing Russia's two republics, asking the Russian parliament to immediately recognize this decision.

On the other hand, the European Union's High Commissioner for Foreign and Security Policy Josep Borrell said that Putin's dispatch of peacekeeping forces to Donetsk and Luhansk is an outright aggression against Ukraine and a violation of its territorial integrity and sovereignty.

Borrell said that the UN Security Council should meet as soon as possible to face the repercussions of the latest developments in Ukraine.

Putin signed the decrees recognizing the independence of Donetsk and Luhansk, despite all warnings and harsh penalties from the West (Reuters)

The New York Times revealed that Russian soldiers without insignia and military ranks and dozens of military vehicles are located 60 kilometers from the Ukrainian border.

And the British newspaper, The Guardian, quoted a senior European official as saying that Putin wants the whole of Ukraine, and the recognition may be just the starting point for a larger escalation.

Axios also said that Putin's recognition of Donetsk and Luhansk is likely the first step of a large-scale military operation.

Preparations for the invasion

On Monday, the United States announced the transfer of all its remaining diplomats in Ukraine to Poland for security reasons, hours after Putin recognized the two separatist republics in eastern Ukraine and gave his forces orders to enter them.

"For security reasons, Foreign Ministry employees who are currently in Lviv will spend this night in Poland," Foreign Minister Anthony Blinken said in a statement.

This step comes about a week after the US embassy was moved from Kiev to Lviv due to the rapid escalation of tension, with the Russian army massing its forces at the border with Ukraine.

ABC also reported that Washington is urging the Ukrainian president to head towards the city of Lviv (western Ukraine) for his own safety.

The network also quoted an official in the US administration that Moscow is still preparing to invade Ukraine in the coming hours or days.


NBC also reported, citing sources, that the Ukrainian government has moved important security technologies and the military command out of Kiev in anticipation of a Russian attack.

And CNN quoted Deputy National Security Adviser John Viner as saying that, based on the latest intelligence, the US administration still believes that Russia may take military action in Ukraine at any time.

Viner stressed that all the signs that we see on the ground - including what the Kremlin revealed - indicate that Russia is continuing its military action and not pursuing diplomacy, stressing that Washington is ready to respond to the step announced by Moscow.

CNN also quoted a US official as saying that a summit between US Presidents Joe Biden and Russian Vladimir Putin is unlikely.

emergency session

The United Nations Security Council, at the request of its Western members, is holding an emergency public meeting to discuss Russia's decision to recognize the independence of the two separatist regions in eastern Ukraine.

The majority of UN Security Council member states (15 countries) criticized the Russian president's decision, and the council's session turned into a platform for criticizing Moscow and asking it to return to the negotiating table to find a peaceful solution to the crisis.

The Security Council session witnessed mutual accusations between the delegates of Russia and Ukraine, and sharp criticism of Moscow over the step announced by Putin (European).

US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas Greenfield called President Putin's claim that the troops he had ordered into eastern Ukraine were for peacekeeping as "nonsense".

"We know what they are," the ambassador said during the emergency meeting of the Security Council to discuss the Ukraine crisis, and her comments came after the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs and Peacekeeping Rosemary DiCarlo expressed her "regret" about the deployment of Russian soldiers in the two breakaway republics.

On the other hand, Russia's delegate to the Security Council said that international positions suggest that Russia's recognition of Donetsk and Luhansk is a surprising step, but this is not true.

The Russian delegate added that the Donetsk and Lugansk republics declared their independence in 2015, but we recognized them only today.

He said that the situation in eastern Ukraine has worsened, and we have witnessed the bombing of residential areas in Donetsk and Luhansk, noting that about 60 thousand people fled from Donbas into Russia due to the Ukrainian bombing.

He stressed that it is Russia's duty to protect Russian civilians in Ukraine, and that is more important than threats from Western countries.

For his part, the Ukrainian delegate to the Security Council said that they called for this emergency meeting to draw attention to the illegal decision of the Russian President.

He added that Ukraine's borders were and will remain unchanged regardless of the steps announced by Russia.

"Today, the Kremlin copied and pasted the Georgia Decree of 2008 word for word," the Ukrainian delegate said.

"There is absolutely no creativity, the Kremlin's copy machine is working very well," he added sarcastically.