Putin’s tanks roll into Ukraine ‘breakaway’ areas in ‘most dangerous moment since Cuban missile crisis’

VLADIMIR Putin’s tanks have rolled into Ukraine creating the most dangerous situation since the Cuban Missile Crisis. Russian tanks moved into two breakaway areas of Ukraine that Putin recognised as independent states, taking the world back to when it held its breath in the shadow of nuclear war. TikTokRussian tanks were seen on the streets of Ukraine[/caption] Putin has ordered his troops to advance into rebel held areas East2WestMilitary vehicles in two breakaway areas of eastern Ukraine that Putin recognised as independent states last night[/caption] APFireworks were let off and Russian flags were waved in the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic[/caption] ReutersIt comes after Putin gave a rambling address to Russians last night[/caption] The much anticipated Russian invasion began in the early hours, soon after Putin addressed his nation. Fears were mounting that Moscow is now poised to move beyond the rebel held pockets to snatch more territory from Ukraine. With a huge 200,000 strong force ringing Ukraine, the world is on a knife edge waiting for Putin’s next move, which could see the bloodiest conflict in Europe since WW2. Already the situation is being compared to the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, when Russian MP Leonid Kalashnikov said his country would recognise the whole of Donetsk and Luhansk regions – rather than just the areas currently under rebel control. With tension mounting, Ukraine said two of its soldiers were killed and 12 others wounded in heavy shelling overnight. Putin ordered the troops in to the rebel areas under the guise of “peacekeepers” – a claim quickly dismissed as “nonsense” by the United States. News from overnight: President Vladimir Putin launched an effective invasion of eastern Ukraine He ordered tanks across the border into the newly-recognised Donetsk and Luhansk regionsHe’s claimed his tanks are carrying out “peacekeeping functions”But the actions could trigger bloodiest conflict since WW2The US, UK and EU have vowed to hit Russia with sanctions todayBoris Johnson is holding a dawn Cobra meeting to discuss the UK’s response America’s ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield heaped scorn on Putin saying: “He calls them peacekeepers. This is nonsense. We know what they really are.” Boris Johnson is chairing an emergency Cobra meeting this morning after the Russian president ordered his long-feared invasion. 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The first UK reaction came from Health Secretary Sajid Javid who said the current situation was as grave as the Cuban Missile crisis, when the US and Russia stood on the brink of nuclear war. “From that you can conclude the invasion of Ukraine has begun,” he told Sky News. Asked later by the BBC if the situation was on a par with the Cuban missile crisis he replied: “I would agree with that analysis. I do think it’s as serious a situation as that.” The EU branded the Russian action as an “act of war” as the bloc was preparing to hit the Kremlin with sanctions. Footage of Terminator-style Russian forces was taken from Makiivka, in the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), and the neighbouring Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR). Celebratory fireworks were fired and Russian flags were waved following Putin’s announcement recognising both last night. The rest of Ukraine is now braced for a massive attack from the north, south and east “at any moment” after Putin declared the besieged nation was “part of Russia.” It emerged today that Moscow is urgently seeking medics to go to work in makeshift hospitals in Rostov, close to the republics.  A doctor said: “Today we have been offered to go work at a temporary hospital in Rostov.  “This is how they said it: ‘The salary will be high, your patients will be the wounded’.” Another medic said there is an urgent plea for doctors and nurses “with experience working in conflict zones”. Putin said in a rambling televised address last night: “We demand that those who have seized and are retaining power in Kyiv immediately halt all hostilities. “Otherwise, the Ukrainian ruling regime will be wholly and entirely responsible for the possible continuation of the bloodshed.” An eyewitnesses spotted huge columns of troops moving through Donetsk in the direction of Yasinuvata even before he finished his hawkish and bellicose rant. The sources later clarified that the witnesses could not be certain that the troops seen were Russian. But Yasinuvata is just nine miles from the 250-mile First World War-style “contact line” of trenches which has separated Ukrainian and pro-Russian separatists for the past eight years. RexLiz Truss was seen arriving at Downing Street for an emergency dawn Cobra meeting just before 6.30am[/caption] APPeople from the Donetsk region left for to temporary residences in Nizhny Novgorod last night[/caption] The president has signed off orders to parliament which made Russia the first country in the world to recognise the two mini-states created when he orchestrated a land grab in 2014. The last paragraph of his orders to parliament said he was ordering Russian armed forces to “provide peacekeeping on the territory of Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republic”. In a further alarming development, Russia’s parliament was also said to be adopting plans to build military bases in self-declared Donetsk and Luhansk – and stay for 10 years. The US has ordered its embassy staff to leave Ukraine immediately in the wake of the revelations. Officials from America said warnings had been sent to Russian political opponents on a Kremlin “kill or capture” list. And Ukrainian citizens say they’ll take up arms and “fight to the death” to defend their country. Meanwhile, there was intrigue over how a leading Putin-backing ultranationalist politician had on December 27 predicted the timing of the military move into Ukraine – almost to the hour.  His words suggested a clear plan by the Russian authorities which has been unfolding since the end of last year.  The invasion was signalled by firebrand Russsian MP Vladimir Zhirinovsky, who told parliament that a military campaign would start at 4am today. The leader of the Liberal Democratic Party had told MPs: “You will feel it at 4am on February 22.” Putin’s prime minister Mikhail Mishustin also admitted that he had been working for “many months” assessing how to stop economic damage from Western sanctions from recognition of the two Ukrainian regions.  “We have been preparing for many months  for the potential reaction over the recognition of LNR and DPR,” he told an emergency Russian national security council session when Putin ordered his key allies to personally back the move.