UN Security Council to hold emergency meeting at request of Ukraine

At the request of Ukraine, the U.S. and six other countries, the United Nations (U.N.) Security Council will hold an emergency meeting in New York on Monday evening after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian troops to separatist regions of Ukraine.

The Associated Press reported it is unclear if the meeting is open or closed. 

Citing a letter, the AP reported that Sergiy Kyslytsya, Ukraine’s U.N. ambassador, said officials were calling for the meeting amid Putin’s actions, which the ambassador said were in violation of the U.N. charter and a 2014 U.N. General Assembly resolution.

Putin earlier Monday ordered Russian forces to “maintain peace” in eastern Ukrainian territories that have been determined to be run by separatists. 

It followed weeks of warnings by U.S. officials who said they expected Putin to further invade parts of Ukraine as the Kremlin continued to put pressure on Western governments to not allow Ukraine to become part of NATO. 

“I consider it necessary to take a long-overdue decision: To immediately recognize the independence and sovereignty of Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic,” Putin said.

President Biden signed an executive order on Monday blocking new U.S. investment, trade and financing from flowing into two Russian separatist-held regions in Ukraine, hours after Putin signed a decree recognizing the areas as independent.

The executive order, detailed by the White House shortly after Putin delivered a lengthy address on his decision, also gives Biden the power to “impose sanctions on any person determined to operate in” the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk people’s republics.