RUSSIA RECOGNIZES DPR, LPR
- Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday signed executive orders to recognize the “independence” of the “Donetsk People’s Republic” (DPR) and the “Lugansk People’s Republic” (LPR), where Ukraine considers as parts of its territory. Putin then ordered Russian military to enter the Donbass regions to “secure the peace.” DPR and LPR claimed independence from Ukraine during the Donbass war in 2014, a conflict that was subsided by two Minsk protocols (Minsk I, Minsk II).
- The U.S. responded by sanctioning DPR and LPR, and the EU announced restrictions on the members of Russian State Duma. China called for restraint and peaceful solutions at the UN emergency meeting on the event.
CHINA SANCTIONS TWO U.S. DEFENSE COMPANIES
- China will sanction aerospace and defense giants Raytheon Technologies and Lockheed Martin in response to the companies’ arms exports to the Taiwan region. The two U.S. military contractors have received similar sanctions from China before.
CHINA-AUSTRALIA DISPUTE
- China fought back at Australia’s allegation of a laser attack at its surveillance aircraft from a Chinese vessel on the Arafura Sea, saying that the information that Melbourne provided was “untrue.” The Chinese media Global Times accused Australia of provoking China at first and gave details of the Chinese version of the story.
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