Russian leader Vladimir Putin got the green light from his upper house of parliament on Tuesday to deploy Russian military forces to two separatist-held regions of eastern Ukraine for what lawmakers said would be a “peacekeeping” mission.
Inflaming a crisis with the West, the upper chamber’s lawmakers voted unanimously in favor after Putin asked for permission to deploy forces abroad. That step came after Moscow recognized the independence of the Ukrainian regions on Monday, triggering international condemnation and sanctions.
The decision takes immediate effect, senior lawmaker Andrei Klishas told the chamber.
“By approving the use of the armed forces abroad, we assume they will be peacekeeping forces – forces designed to maintain peace and stability in the (self-proclaimed east Ukrainian) republics,” Valentina Matvienko, the upper house’s speaker, said before the vote.
As lawmakers met to discuss the idea, the Kremlin announced Putin had ratified friendship treaties with two Moscow-backed Ukrainian breakaway republics.
Russia says that step allows it to build military bases there, deploy troops, agree a joint defense posture and tighten economic integration.
The move comes amid a crisis over a huge Russian military buildup near Ukraine that has fueled fears of an invasion, which Moscow denies planning.
In the meantime, Russia made a decision to evacuate its diplomatic staff from Ukraine, the foreign ministry announced.
“Our first priority is to take care of Russian diplomats and employees of the Embassy and Consulates General. To protect their lives and safety, the Russian leadership decided to evacuate staff of Russian missions in Ukraine, which will be implemented in the very near future,” it said in a statement.
(Reporting by Andrew Osborn, Polina Devitt, Maria Tsvetkova, Darya Korsunskaya, Maria Kiselyova; Writing by Tom Balmforth; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
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