Russian troops launched missile attacks against several Ukrainian cities after Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized a “special military operation” in the east.

At the same time, Russian-backed separatists in Ukraine’s Donetsk have launched strikes against Ukrainian forces along the line of contact, local sources reported.

On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin submitted a proposal to Federation Council to approve a resolution authorizing the use of Armed Forces abroad.

“On the basis of Paragraph “d”, Part 1, Article 102 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, and under the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance between the Russian Federation and the Donetsk People’s Republic, and the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance between the Russian Federation and the Lugansk People’s Republic, I am submitting a proposal that the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation approve a resolution authorizing the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation abroad on the basis of the generally accepted principles and norms of international law,” Putin said.

The ongoing Russo-Ukrainian conflict stems from the protracted Russo-Ukrainian War that began in early 2014.

In December 2021, Russia advanced two draft treaties that contained requests of what it referred to as "security guarantees", including a legally binding promise that Ukraine would not join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) as well as a reduction in NATO troops and military hardware stationed in Eastern Europe, and threatened unspecified military response if those demands were not met in full.

NATO has rejected these requests, and the United States warned Russia of "swift and severe" economic sanctions should it further invade Ukraine.

The crisis has been described by some commentators as one of the most intense since the Cold War. (ILKHA)