Russia

Prime minister Scott Morrison says Australia 'always stands up to bullies' and there 'must be consequences for Russia's actions'

He said the Russian government “should be called out as thugs and bullies”. The US president, Joe Biden, said he was determined to “cut off Russia’s government from western financing”. “Calling it peacekeeping is quite farcical. It is anything but. “Australians always stand up to bullies,” he said. Senior Labor opposition frontbenchers were briefed by senior officials on Wednesday afternoon.

Putin has sent soldiers on a 'peacekeeping mission' but is likely to threaten Ukraine with a broader war.

And they have made clear that they will not send combat troops to Ukraine. An offensive of that size has not been seen in Europe since the second world war. They include the large city of Mariupol, which is on the other side of the frontlines. Moscow will now threaten Ukraine with a broader war if it continues to fight against the “separatists”, telling Kyiv that Russia is now obliged by treaty to defend them from attack. More than 14,000 people have died in the fighting that has occurred since 2014. A document signed by Putin on Monday also allows him to establish military bases or place missiles in the territories.

Officials tread water over recognised borders of self-proclaimed republics in Luhansk and Donetsk until Putin's statement. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

While normally you would expect a state signing a similar treaty to recognise the others’ territorial claims, he added: “We shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves.” “I’ll tell you that the question was not discussed,” he admitted a bit sheepishly. And, not knowing that Vladimir Putin would weigh that evening to settle the question in favour of the expanded borders, Peskov was making a hash of it. He could not explain if Russia had recognised the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Luhansk up to their current borders, or with claims on further Ukrainian land. “I have nothing to add to this,” Peskov replied. For nearly a day, officials were treading water.

Analysis: advance forces' battle readiness will quickly degrade, giving Putin only days to choose invasion or retreat.

But, either way, military pressures mean the next few days are likely to be significant. They will assess our responses. Latvia’s defence minister, Artis Pabriks, agreed the next few days were crucial.

Analysis: The west will adopt step-by-step approach, leaving toughest sanctions as last resort.

Targeting the Russian financial sector would be the next most obvious step. The west’s problem is that sanctions against Russia come at a cost, and that cost goes up as the regime is tightened. The response to Boris Johnson’s announcement that five of the less important Russian banks and three individuals would be targeted was: is that it?

EU foreign policy chief Borrell says the sanctions unanimously agreed by 27 member states will hurt Russia.

“The sanctions will hurt Russia and will hurt a lot,” Borrell said at a press conference with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian. The 27 members of the European Union unanimously agreed on the measures at an informal meeting in Paris on the sidelines of an international forum, Josep Borrell said on Tuesday. EU members have agreed upon a package of new sanctions against Russia that aims to inflict severe damage on the country after its recognition of breakaway regions in Ukraine, the EU foreign policy chief has said.