Moscow/Donetsk - Russian lawmakers gave President Vladimir Putin permission to use military force outside the country on Tuesday — a move that could presage a broader attack on Ukraine after the U.S. said an invasion was already underway there reported AP.

The upper house of Russia’s parliament has granted permission, following a request on Tuesday from President Vladimir Putin.

The decision was taken after Russia recognized the breakaway Donetsk (DPR) and Lugansk (LPR) People’s Republics in eastern Ukraine.

The White House called Russian moves on Ukraine an invasion. Western countries are imposing sanctions on Tuesday after President Vladimir Putin recognised two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine and ordered the deployment of troops there, deepening Western fears of a major war in Europe.

Leaders react to Russian announcement
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz put the certification of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany on ice, a measure widely considered the toughest Europe is likely to take against Moscow at this stage. The pipe, built to bring gas from Russia to Germany via the Baltic Sea, has been completed but has yet to win regulatory approval.

Russia's recognition of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions as independent states is an "unjustified act", defence ministers from the UK, the Netherlands, the Baltic States and Nordic countries have said. Defence ministers from ten countries are part of the UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force and issued the statement after meeting in Leicestershire.

UK’s Boris Johnson has announced sanctions against three individuals and five Russian banks: Rossiya, IS Bank, General Bank, Promsvyazbank and the Black Sea Bank. He called it "the first barrage of what we are prepared to do".

Russia's parliament was expected to ratify treaties with the two separatist regions on Tuesday, and rising fears of war pushed oil prices to a seven-year high on Tuesday, while safe-haven currencies including the yen rallied and stocks around the world tumbled.

Putin's announcement on Monday, and his signing of a decree on the deployment of Russian troops to "keep peace" in the two breakaway regions, drew international condemnation.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he would consider breaking diplomatic ties with Russia and Kyiv recalled its ambassador in Moscow.

Hungary’s defense minister says the military will deploy soldiers and equipment to the region near the Ukrainian border to prepare for potential humanitarian and border protection operations.

Confusions
Ukraine said two soldiers had been killed and 12 wounded in shelling by pro-Russian separatists in the east in the past 24 hours and reported new hostilities on Tuesday morning.

Confusion over what exactly is happening in eastern Ukraine threatened to stagger a Western response.

“Russian troops have entered in Donbas,” the name for the area where the two separatist regions are located, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in Paris. “We consider Donbas part of Ukraine.”

But in a distinction that could complicate a European and Western response, he added: “I wouldn’t say that (it is) a fully-fledged invasion, but Russian troops are on Ukrainian soil.”

Poland’s Defense Ministry and British Health Secretary Sajid Javid also said Russian forces had entered Ukraine’s east, with Javid telling Sky News that “the invasion of Ukraine has begun.”

Not all in Europe saw it that way. Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares noted “if Russia uses force against Ukraine, sanctions will be massive.”

Independent areas recognised by Russia
Ukraine an eastern European country shares its south-eastern border with Russia, an area often referred to as the Donbas. This area includes the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.

Some parts of Donetsk and Luhansk are self-declared independent people's republics and others controlled by the Ukrainian government.

Russia has declared that it recognises the self-declared republics as independent.

Ukraine, a member of the Soviet Union till its breakup in 1991, has borders with Belarus, Poland, Moldova, Romania Hungary and Slovakia.

In a fiery televised speech on Monday, Putin argued that Ukraine had no history of being a true nation. He also said that if Ukraine were to join NATO, it would serve as a direct threat to the security of Russia. Ukraine's President Zelensky, in his own late-night speech, said Ukraine was not afraid and would not yield anything to anyone.
-Reuters/AP/BBC