Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that the country's interests were non-negotiable, as Moscow massed more than 150,000 troops on the borders with Ukraine and the West punished Russia with new sanctions.
In a video address to mark the Defender of the Fatherland Day, a public holiday in the country, Putin congratulated the Russian military and praised the battle-readiness of the army after he signalled plans to send troops to Ukraine.
"Our country is always open for direct and honest dialogue, for the search for diplomatic solutions to the most complex problems," Putin said.
But he added: "The interests of Russia, the security of our citizens, are non-negotiable for us."
Putin spoke after parliament's upper house, the Federation Council, on Tuesday evening gave him unanimous approval to deploy "peacekeepers" to two breakaway Ukrainian regions now recognised by Moscow as independent, and potentially into other parts of Ukraine.
On Tuesday night, Russia said it had established diplomatic relations "at the level of embassies" with the separatist-controlled regions, which broke away from Kyiv in 2014 in a conflict that cost 14,000 lives.
Moscow also said it would soon evacuate diplomatic personnel from Ukraine to "protect their lives."
Speaking to journalists Tuesday evening, Putin set out a number of stringent conditions if the West wanted to de-escalate the crisis, saying pro-Western Ukraine should drop its Nato membership ambitions and maintain neutrality.
In this file photo taken on June 28, 2019, then US President Donald Trump attends a meeting with Russia's President Vladimir Putin during the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan. (Photo: AFP)
Meanwhile, former US president Donald Trump on Tuesday hailed Putin's aggression against Ukraine as "genius" but said the crisis would not have happened under the Republican firebrand's administration.
During an appearance on a rightwing radio program, the hosts asked Trump about Putin recognising two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine as independent.
"I went in yesterday and there was a television screen, and I said, 'This is genius,'" Trump responded.
"Putin declares a big portion of the Ukraine -- of Ukraine -- Putin declares it as independent. Oh, that's wonderful."
Russia is facing an international backlash after Putin ordered his forces into Ukraine to secure the self-declared Donetsk and Lugansk rebel republics.
The move came with tens of thousands of Russian soldiers on Ukraine's borders and amid warnings of an all-out invasion.
Trump said Putin's tactics had been "smart" and argued, without elaborating, that the United States could replicate them on its border with Mexico.
He followed up with a separate statement arguing that the Ukraine crisis could have been averted altogether if it had been "properly handled" by President Joe Biden, who defeated him in the 2020 election.
"I know Vladimir Putin very well, and he would have never done during the Trump administration what he is doing now, no way!" the twice-impeached former president said.
