Germany moved to halt the certification of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia after President Vladimir Putin ordered troops into breakaway regions in Ukraine, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced Tuesday.
According to Scholz, the government will “reassess” the approval process.
“That will certainly take time, if I may say so,” he said.
The pipeline would have doubled Russian gas exports to Germany.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky remained calm about the situation in a speech on Monday evening, while also acknowledging that diplomatic relations with Russia could drastically change.
"I've received a request from the foreign ministry. I will consider the issue of severing diplomatic relations between Ukraine and the Russian Federation. Immediately after our press conference, I will consider this issue," he said, according to Reuters.
But as for martial law, he was clear.
"We believe that there will be no war, there will be no powerful [war] against Ukraine and there will be no wide escalation by the Russian Federation," he said. "If there is a [wide escalation], then martial law will be introduced."
Zelensky: “With regards to being on a military footing, we understand there will be no war…There will not be an all-out war against Ukraine, and there will not be a broad escalation from Russia.”
— Alexander Marquardt (@MarquardtA) February 22, 2022
Germany's move comes after Russian forces entered eastern Ukraine to "perform peacekeeping functions."
Columns of Russian military vehicles poured into Donetsk overnight, hours after Mr. Putin made a speech questioning Ukraine’s legitimacy and recognizing the two statelets that Russia established in the Donbas in 2014, according to witnesses and footage posted on social media. A senior White House official said the administration had received information that Russian troops had deployed into the Donetsk and Luhansk regions “for so-called peacekeeping functions,” adding that U.S. officials are still assessing the situation.
The local authorities, however, haven’t made any announcements on this alleged deployment. Eduard Basurin, a senior official of the so-called Donetsk people’s republic, was quoted by Moscow’s RIA news agency as saying he wasn’t aware of any arrival of Russian troops.
In an earlier TV address to Ukrainians, Mr. Zelensky said the Russian move simply legalized the eight-year Russian occupation of the area and showed that Moscow wasn’t interested in peace. (WSJ)