Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that Russia’s security interests were non-negotiable but that he was ready to look for “diplomatic solutions” amid raging tensions with the West over Moscow’s aggression against Ukraine.

“The interests of Russia, the security of our citizens, are non-negotiable for us,” Putin said in a video address to mark the Defender of the Fatherland Day, a public holiday in Russia.

“Our country is always open for direct and honest dialogue, for the search for diplomatic solutions to the most complex problems,” he said.

Meanwhile, Japan and Australia were the latest countries to impose sanctions on Russia on Wednesday, announcing stringent penalties for Moscow and individuals connected with the military action.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said at a press conference that Russia was “behaving like thugs and bullies, and they should be called out.”

Morrison said that targeted financial sanctions and travel bans will be a first batch of measures in response to Russian aggression toward Ukraine.

Australia and Russia have imposed sanctions on each other since 2014. The sanctions were initiated by Australia in protest of Russian involvement in the Ukraine conflict.

The National Security Committee of Morrison’s cabinet approved sanctions and travel bans that target eight members of the Russian Security Council. They also agreed to expand previous sanctions and to align with the United States and Britain by targeting two Russian banks.

Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said that his government will ban new issuance and distribution of Russian government bonds in Japan in response to the “actions Russia has been taking in Ukraine.”

He said Japan will also suspend visa issuance to the people linked to the two Ukrainian rebel regions and freeze their assets in Japan, and will ban trade with the two areas.

Kishida repeated his “strong condemnation” of Russia for violating Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity as well as international law.

The announcements from Canberra and Tokyo came a day after US President Joe Biden announced tough new sanctions against Russia for “beginning” an invasion of Ukraine, but said there was still time to avoid war, even as Putin signaled plans to send troops beyond Russia’s borders.

Biden announced what he called the “first tranche” of sanctions, including steps to starve Russia of financing and target financial institutions and the country’s “elites.”

But he left the door open to a final effort at diplomacy to avert a full-scale Russian invasion.

“There’s no question that Russia is the aggressor, so we’re clear eyed about the challenges we’re facing,” the president said. “Nonetheless, there is still time to avert the worst case scenario that will bring untold suffering to millions of people.”

Biden’s address followed a wave of sanctions announced by Britain and the European Union, after Putin recognized the self-declared Donetsk and Lugansk rebel republics.

Germany also announced it was halting certification of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia.

But Moscow said the sanctions regime would backfire.

The US-led sanctions will “hurt the global financial and energy markets,” Anatoly Antonov, Russia’s ambassador to the United States, said in a Facebook post, adding that ordinary Americans will “feel the full consequences of rising prices.”

‘Rejection of diplomacy’

Putin’s plans remained unclear, but Western officials have been warning for weeks he has been preparing an all-out invasion of Ukraine, a move that could spark a catastrophic war in Europe.

However, despite Biden’s call for diplomacy, the US signaled it no longer believes Russia is serious about avoiding conflict, as Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he had canceled a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov scheduled for Thursday.

“Now that we see the invasion is beginning and Russia has made clear its wholesale rejection of diplomacy, it does not make sense to go forward with that meeting,” Blinken said.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance had “every indication” that Moscow “continues to plan for a full-scale attack on Ukraine.”

Kyiv showed no sign of backing down, with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba meeting Biden to appeal for more military aid.

Biden said Washington would continue to supply “defensive” weapons to Ukraine and deploy more US troops to reinforce NATO allies in Eastern Europe.

Kyiv recalled its top diplomat from Moscow as President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Putin’s recognition of the breakaway regions heralded “further military aggression” against Ukraine.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said EU foreign ministers “unanimously agreed on an initial sanctions package,” as he also canceled a meeting with his Russian counterpart.

Britain slapped sanctions on five Russian banks and three billionaires, and Canada followed suit with similar measures.

‘We weren’t expecting this’

A Ukrainian soldier died Tuesday and six suffered injuries in clashes with Moscow-backed rebels in the east, the army said.

In the frontline town of Shchastya, shellfire rang out around an electric power station as fearful residents awaited the Russian deployment.

A shell hit the roof of 59-year-old Valentyna Shmatkova’s apartment block overnight, shattering all the windows in her two-room apartment.

“We spent the war in the basement,” she said, referring to the 2014 fighting.

“But we weren’t expecting this. We never thought Ukraine and Russia wouldn’t end up agreeing.”

Source: AGENCIES via TOI

Header: People wait to cross from Ukrainian government controlled areas to pro-Russian separatists controlled territory in Stanytsia Luhanska, the only crossing point open daily, in the Luhansk region, eastern Ukraine, Feb. 22, 2022 (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)