After Russia's President Vladimir Putin announced live on state TV on Monday evening that Moscow would formally recognise the separatist regions of Donetsk and Lugansk, Russian troops reportedly entered eastern Ukraine.
The move, widely considered an escalation by the international community, has led to the US and its NATO allies announcing their plans to enforce sweeping sanctions on the Russian Federation with the aim of making any invasion extremely costly for Moscow.
While the Kremlin has for weeks denied invasion plans, it has at the same time built up an enormous force of troops and heavy weaponry on three sides of Ukraine, with the number of troops varying from 150,000 to 200,000.
Given the speed of developments, The New Arab is providing live updates of what's been happening on the ground and additional analysis on the conflict's significance.
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