Likelihood of war escalates as Putin promises to support proxy Ukraine states

In a dramatic move Germany halted the approval process for the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia, while the EU and the UK announced sanctions on Russia in a show of concerted western resolve, with EU foreign ministers banning Russian bond trades in the European market. Boris Johnson revealed a package of asset freezes on five Russian banks and three high net worth individuals but faced criticism from his MPs for not going further. The UK, US and EU could all bring in further sanctions.

Putin last appealed to the Federation Council for a similar authorisation when he intervened in the Syrian conflict in 2015. He has never requested a similar authorisation to send troops to Ukraine, despite evidence that Russian forces have, in fact, fought there since 2014.

The western sanctions are intended to deter Putin from an all-out offensive.

EU foreign ministers agreed to sanction 27 Russians and entities, all members of the Russian Duma, the lower house of parliament, as well as banks and the defence sector, while limiting Russian access to European capital markets.

In Kyiv, there was a growing sense that Russia had decided to escalate military conflict, and the only remaining question was scale.