UNITED NATIONS (AN) — U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres on Tuesday described Russia's moves to recognize and occupy two separatist regions of eastern Ukraine as a flagrant defiance of international law and the norms of peacekeeping.
His stern remarks about Russia, one of the five veto-wielding permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, drew attention to the peril facing Ukraine. Russian lawmakers authorized President Vladimir Putin to use military force outside Russia. In response, U.S. President Joe Biden and European leaders imposed sanctions against Russian financial institutions and oligarchs.
