February 22, 2022 Ukraine-Russia crisis news

The Federation Council — Russia's upper chamber of parliament — gave consent to Russian President Vladimir Putin on the use of the Russian armed forces outside the country in connection with the situation in the Donbas, Russian state news agencies RIA-Novosti and TASS reported Tuesday. 

A resolution was unanimously adopted on the matter at an extraordinary meeting of the upper house of parliament, TASS said, with 153 senators voting in favor.

This post has been updated with the latest news.

US President Joe Biden will provide an update on Russia and Ukraine at 1 p.m. ET in the East Room, the White House said. 

White House press secretary Jen Psaki’s briefing was moved to 4 p.m. ET.

The White House is expected to announce a new set of sanctions against Russia after President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian troops into two separatist pro-Moscow regions in eastern Ukraine after recognizing their independence on Monday.

You can follow along for the latest updates and watch Biden's speech here.

This post has been updated with the latest timing of Biden's speech.

Ukrainians are on edge after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian troops into two separatist pro-Moscow regions in eastern Ukraine after recognizing their independence on Monday. CNN spoke to some people on the ground in Zaporizhzhia. They declined to provide their last names.

"This is a violation of sovereignty and there is no room for another view," said 31-year-old Roman, who works as a lawyer. "I don’t know if it means war will come – but it is definitely an escalation and it’s a fact."

Roman added that his action will depend on what happens next. "I might join a territorial defense unit."

Meanwhile, 27-year-old Alyona said these tensions over territory could have been avoided if the residents of Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic were give a referendum eight years ago.

"I think we should have given DPR and LPR a referendum on this eight years ago. There should have been three questions, 'Do you want to be in Russia?', 'Do you want to be in Ukraine?', or 'Do you want to be independent?' and give them the choice, because all this fighting doesn’t make sense."

The role and rhetoric from the United States is also a key factor in the situation for 45-year-old Alexander.

"This isn’t a war against Ukraine or against Europe. It’s a war between Russia and USA," Alexander told CNN.

French President Emmanuel Macron’s diplomatic sprint to de-escalate the Russia-Ukraine crisis hasn’t been a complete success, French Prime Minister Jean Castex admitted while speaking at the French National Assembly on Tuesday.   

Macron has been very active in mediating between Russia, Ukraine and the West since the latest crisis between Ukraine and Russia started.  

But Putin’s decision on Monday to recognize two separatist pro-Moscow regions in eastern Ukraine have led some in France to question Macron’s previous efforts.  

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian in Paris is discussing EU sanctions against Russia with other member states. 

Global markets tumbled and crude oil prices surged to $99 per barrel on Tuesday after Russia ordered troops into parts of eastern Ukraine.

Wall Street also headed lower as traders returned from the holiday weekend.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered Russian troops into two separatist pro-Moscow regions in eastern Ukraine after recognizing their independence on Monday. The move appears to be the opening salvo of a larger potential military operation targeting Ukraine, US and western officials told CNN.

Escalating uncertainty about Ukraine was reflected by a spike in energy prices. US crude futures jumped 5.4% to trade at $95.65 per barrel. Brent crude, the global benchmark, surged 3.8% to $99.17 per barrel.

Russia is one of the world's biggest producers of oil. It is also a major exporter of natural gas. 

Investors fear that conflict in Ukraine could limit or stop the flow of Russian gas into Europe, making it much more expensive for people to heat and light their homes. In 2020, Russia accounted for about 38% of the European Union's natural gas imports, according to data agency Eurostat.

The region's biggest economy, Germany, is particularly exposed as it weans itself off of coal and nuclear power. So are Italy and Austria, which receive gas via pipelines that run through Ukraine.

Western countries would likely respond to a Russian invasion of Ukraine with punishing sanctions that could cut Russian banks off from the global financial system and make it more difficult for the country to export its oil and gas.

The deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, has responded to Germany’s announcement on Tuesday that it would halt the certification of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, warning of a severe hike in natural gas prices for Europe.

Earlier on Tuesday, Scholz announced that the certification of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline would be halted in response to Moscow’s actions in eastern Ukraine. 

“With regards to the latest developments, we need to reassess the situation also with regards to Nord Stream 2. It sounds very technocratic, but it is the necessary administrative step in order to stop certification of the pipeline,” Scholz said in Berlin.

Some background: The 750-mile pipeline was completed in September but has not yet received final certification from German regulators. Without that, natural gas cannot flow through the Baltic Sea pipeline from Russia to Germany.                        

Nord Stream 2 could deliver 55 billion cubic meters of gas per year. That's more than 50% of Germany's annual consumption and could be worth as much as $15 billion to Gazprom, the Russian state owned company that controls the pipeline.

The United States, the United Kingdom, Ukraine and several EU countries have opposed the pipeline since it was announced in 2015, warning the project would increase Moscow's influence in Europe.

Germany: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz stopped the progression of the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline following Moscow’s actions in eastern Ukraine. The pipeline, which would have increased European reliance on energy from Russia, has been a major source of contention in Europe and the United States for years. Without undergoing the certification or approval process, the pipeline cannot start running. 

United Kingdom: Prime Minister Boris Johnson has unveiled the "first tranche" of British sanctions on Russia, condemning Vladimir Putin's Ukraine aggression. The UK will sanction five Russian banks and three "very high net worth" individuals, Johnson said in Parliament.

"What (Putin) is doing is going to be a disaster for Russia," he said, predicting "pariah status" for the nation if it continues to further invade Ukraine.

European Union: The European Commission proposed sanctions to EU members states and placed a particular emphasis that would mirror sanctions taken in Crimea after the 2014 annexation by Moscow. Sources say US and European officials have been in intense discussions over the several past hours over how to proceed with additional sanctions against Russia.

United States: After its first set of announced sanctions on Monday, the White House has said it will impose additional "significant" sanctions on Tuesday. Monday's sanctions were cautious in nature and Tuesday's sanctions are expected to go further but it will not be the full blow that the US has previewed, pending "further actions" by Russia.

Turkey: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan denounced Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to recognize breakaway eastern Ukrainian territories, calling it “unacceptable," and saying it is contrary to the Minsk Agreements.

China: China's Foreign Ministry evaded more than a dozen questions on Ukraine in its daily briefing on Tuesday. In his responses, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin reiterated that any country’s “legitimate security concerns should be respected” and urged all parties to "exercise restraint.” Beijing is navigating a complex position as it attempts to balance deepening ties with Moscow with its practiced foreign policy of staunchly defending state sovereignty.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has hailed Germany's decision to halt certification of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline as a "brave step."

Some background: Earlier today, Germany said it was halting certification of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline following Moscow's actions in eastern Ukraine on Monday.

The 750-mile pipeline was completed in September but has not yet received final certification from German regulators. Without that, natural gas cannot flow through the Baltic Sea pipeline from Russia to Germany.

The United States, the United Kingdom, Ukraine and several EU countries have opposed the pipeline since it was announced in 2015, warning the project would increase Moscow's influence in Europe.

Nord Stream 2 could deliver 55 billion cubic meters of gas per year. That's more than 50% of Germany's annual consumption and could be worth as much as $15 billion to Gazprom, the Russian state owned company that controls the pipeline.

There are few energy projects in the world as controversial as Nord Stream 2, and on Tuesday, it all but died in the water as Germany’s leader halted its approval process. 

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s announcement was the strongest concrete response yet from the West to Russia’s military action in eastern Ukraine. But it puts Europe in an uncomfortable position — Russia could simply turn off its other gas taps that power most of the continent and leave millions of people in the dark and cold. 

Fears that Russia would use Nord Stream 2 as a geopolitical weapon to push it interests — and expansionism — in Europe were well founded. But loading the weapon with actual gas will weaken Europe’s position even further.

Whether or not Germany officially scraps Nord Stream 2, Russia’s actions in Ukraine make the project politically untenable. 

The pipeline was already running into political problems. The 1,230-kilometer pipeline was supposed to ferry huge amounts of Russian gas to Europe via Germany, and although it has been sitting there, built for more than five months, not a single delivery has passed through it.

Germany’s new coalition government has a strong Greens presence that opposed the increased reliance on natural gas – a fossil fuel that is now contributing more greenhouse gas emissions in the EU than coal, so reliant it has become on what was supposed to be a fuel to transition to renewables. 

Nord Stream 2 was set to add 100 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year, not to mention the inevitable leaks of methane, a greenhouse gas with more than 80 times the planet-warming power of CO2 in the short term.

Now Europe — Germany in particular – has an opportunity to use this moment to move away not just from Nord Stream 2 but its growing reliance on fossil gas altogether. 

Germany is one of few developed nations that opposes nuclear power and is in the process of shutting down its few reactors. Without it, it will need a radical rethink to speed up energy generation from renewables. And considering the environmental concerns around dealing with the radioactive waste that nuclear energy brings, its role in the future energy mix has its limitations. A rapid scale-up of renewables – solar, wind and hydropower – offer security in both energy and climate protection. Moving subsidies away from fossil fuels to renewables would be an easy first step.

In the short term, Europe can scramble gas from other countries — unlikely enough to replace Russia, but perhaps enough to get by — and deal with the immediate Russian threat.

But the forever problem of the climate crisis will keep churning and will ultimately be deadlier and costlier than military confrontation is likely to be.