Around the same time Vladimir Putin ordered his troops to enter Ukraine on Monday, the foreign secretary of the United Kingdom vowed new sanctions against Russia. Liz Truss denounced what she called a “breach of international law and attack on Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.” Specifically, she appeared to be referring to the Russian president unilaterally deeming the nominally pro-Kremlin Ukrainian territories of Luhansk and Donetsk to be independent states. Shortly, thereafter, Putin claimed he was sending “peacekeeping” troops to the areas, which could easily serve as a pretext for a larger invasion of the country.
