US Diplomats Flee as Putin Claims Independence for 2 Ukrainian Territories, Orders His Troops to Occupy Them

Jenna Browder
02-22-2022

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WASHINGTON – Overnight the few remaining American diplomats in Ukraine were temporarily evacuated to Poland as Russian President Vladimir Putin ratchets up the possibility of war in eastern Europe. 

On Monday, Putin claimed that two areas of eastern Ukraine are now independent and then ordered Russian troops to invade those areas. The move is being met with global condemnation. The U.S. has already imposed some minor sanctions and more are expected Tuesday. 

"We are going to be imposing significant sanctions on Russia," National Security Advisor Jon Finer said Monday. 

Overnight, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield called Putin's move a clear attack on Ukraine's sovereignty. "This move by President Putin is clearly the basis for Russia's attempt to create a pretext for a further invasion of Ukraine," said Greenfield. "He has since announced that he will place Russian troops in these regions. He calls them peacekeepers. This is nonsense. We know what they really are."

Former President Trump blasted the Biden administration for allowing Putin to have his way in Ukraine, saying, "If properly handled, there was absolutely no reason that the situation currently happening in Ukraine should have happened at all." 


  
Russia now says its so-called recognition of the alleged independence of eastern territories of Ukraine extends even to Ukrainian-held parts of those areas. 

Satellite images show Russian forces now less than six miles from the border. 

The White House has urged Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky to leave for his own safety. In a video posted to social media overnight, Zelensky urged calm and said his citizens are "strong and ready." 

CBN Senior International Correspondent George Thomas is on the ground in Lviv, Ukraine, near the Polish border. 

"Putin has at least three options right now," explained Thomas. "One, he can take the next couple of days and assess how the Ukrainians, as well as the international community respond. Two, he can create these so-called false flag operations, accusing the Ukrainians of trying to attack his forces that would give him the pretext to launch a larger invasion into the east. And three, he can launch an imminent full-scale invasion and take the entire two provinces and then set his sights on Kyiv." 

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinkin is expected to meet with Ukraine's Foreign Minister Tuesday. 

The 27-nation European Union is also standing with the U.S. and NATO, pledging harsher sanctions against Russia.

Meanwhile, Christians in Ukraine have been seeking God's intervention through fasting and prayer:

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About The Author

Jenna
Browder

Jenna Browder co-hosts Faith Nation and is a network correspondent for CBN News. She has interviewed many prominent national figures from both sides of the political aisle, including presidents, cabinet secretaries, lawmakers, and other high-ranking officials. Jenna grew up in the small mountain town of Gunnison, Colorado and graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder, where she studied journalism. Her first TV jobs were at CBS affiliates in Cheyenne, Wyoming and Monroe, Louisiana where she anchored the nightly news. She came to Washington, D.C. in 2016. Getting to cover that year's
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