Ukraine set to declare of state of emergency amid escalating tensions with Russia
Amid escalating tensions with Russia, Ukraine is set to introduce a state of emergency. According to the country’s top security official, the state of emergency would last for a month and can be extended for another 30 days. This would be introduced in all Ukrainian territory apart from the rebel regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.
According to Ukraine’s security council secretary Oleksiy Danilov, the move must be formally approved by parliament, and requires stepped-up document and vehicle checks, among other measures. The development comes a day after Russia’s upper house of parliament gave President Vladimir Putin permission to send “peacekeepers” into two breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine.
As per an earlier update shared by Danilov, each of the country’s regions would be able to select the measures needed, “depending on how necessary they might be”. “What could it be? This could be added enforcement of public order…This could involve limiting certain types of transport, increased vehicle checks, or asking people to show this or that document,” he added.
As tensions with Russia intensify, several western nations have imposed sanctions on the country even as officials warned of further measures in case of an escalation. “To stop Putin from further aggression, we call on partners to impose more sanctions on Russia now,” tweeted Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Wednesday.
He also expressed thanks for international sanctions imposed on Moscow, urging countries to “hit his (Russian President Vladimir Putin) economy and cronies. “Hit more. Hit hard. Hit now,” he had urged.
The country on Wednesday began calling up reservists into the armed forces and urged its citizens to leave Russia immediately. Ukraine has a reserve force of more than 200,000 that is comprised mostly of military personnel who served in the first years of the country’s eight-year war with Russian-backed separatists. According to a Facebook update shared by the armed forces, reservists between the ages of 18 and 60 would be called up for a period of up to one year.
