Ukraine: Putin recognises Donetsk and Luhansk as independent states

Vladimir Putin will recognise the Russian-controlled territories in southeast Ukraine as independent states in a pivotal decision, scuttling an existing peace agreement and triggering condemnation and new sanctions from the west.

State television then broadcast a short video showing Putin signing a presidential order to recognise the two Russian-backed states. The separatist leaders were also present.

Minutes after Putin finished speaking, the White House announced the prohibition of US investment in or trade with in the breakaway republics and potential sanctions against anyone operating within the Moscow-backed territories.

The UK is expected to announce its own sanctions on Tuesday.

France and Germany are both signatories of the Minsk agreements, a peace deal that will probably be abandoned as a result of the Russian decision.

The announcement followed an extraordinary meeting of his security council broadcast on national television, where the Russian president said he would make a decision later on Monday after a choreographed back-and-forth with his top advisers designed to prepare public support for the decision.

The threat of official recognition for its two proxy states in Donetsk and Luhansk has also been a part of that pressure campaign. Russia has controlled and armed the two states since the outbreak of fighting in south-east Ukraine after a revolution in Kyiv in 2014 but wanted to keep them in Ukraine with the right to veto crucial decisions, such as membership of Nato.

This likely sets the stage for a meeting of the security council where Ukraine can put its case to the world. Any of the members can request an urgent meeting, which has to be held within 24 hours of the formal demand going in.

Russia is the security council president and so may be able to control whether the meeting is closed or open. However, western member states that have been pushing hard for a diplomatic resolution to the crisis are likely to group together in a show of strength, one envoy said.

The Russia-backed leaders last week announced a formal evacuation of the two territories, citing the rise in artillery fire and claiming that Ukraine was planning to launch a large-scale assault.

Russian officials earlier also said that a Ukrainian shell had destroyed a border facility used by the FSB.

Additional reporting by Pjotr Sauer, Emma Graham-Harrison and Luke Harding