Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/1497322
Sanctions against Russia 10 Commons Library Research Briefing, 22 March 2023 2 What prompted fresh sanctions? Russia began building up its military forces in Crimea and along the borders of Ukraine in November 2021. Despite consistently denying suggestions that it was planning to invade, Russia launched military action in Ukraine on 24 February 2022. President Putin said Russia, acting in self-defence, was launching a special military operation in the Donbas and called on Ukrainian forces to lay down their weapons. 10 However, a full-scale assault on the country is currently underway. Russia's actions come days after President Putin officially recognised the independence of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR), two self-declared Republic's in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine that have been under the control of Russian-backed separatists since 2014. That recognition was quickly followed by the deployment of Russian troops to the region under the guise of peacekeeping operations and the signing of treaties of friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance between Russia and the leaders of those two regions. Since the annexation of Crimea in 2014, Western nations have made clear their support for Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty and its right to choose its security partnerships. At the outset of the current crisis, the West warned Russia that any military escalation would have significant economic consequences, including an unprecedented package of sanctions targeting Russia's financial institutions, energy sector, and individuals close to the Kremlin. Halting Russia's controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to Europe was also being considered as part of any sanctions package. 10 President of Russia, Statement, 24 February 2022