The latest on the Ukraine-Russia crisis

China is navigating a complex position as the crisis in Ukraine intensifies, as it attempts to balance a robust friendship with Russia with its practiced foreign policy of staunchly defending state sovereignty.

Responding to questions on China’s stance on the situation in Ukraine on Saturday, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said "sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all countries should be respected and safeguarded."

Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Wang called for all parties to return to the Minsk agreements, reached after earlier conflicts in eastern Ukraine.

But Russia’s latest actions, recognizing two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine, raise questions about China’s next stance.

China may also be careful not to be seen to condemn Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping made a show of their tightening bonds during a meeting early this month, where the two sides – who are not in a formal military alliance – pledged that there were “no limits” and “no 'forbidden’ areas of cooperation." 

China also backed Russia’s central demand to the West in an agreement following that meeting, with both sides "opposing further enlargement of NATO.”

China has yet to comment on Russia’s move to recognize breakaway eastern Ukrainian territories as independent, while China’s state media on Tuesday morning local time referred to the republics using quotation marks in early reporting. 

The emergency session of the UN Security Council, an open session where all member nations – including the Russians and the US – are expected to make statements, will be a test of how China will navigate the escalating situation.

Ukraine’s foreign minister said he has spoken to European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, after Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized the two Moscow-backed regions as independent. 

A tweet from the verified account of Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said, “Had a call with @JosepBorrellF. We share the same assessment of Russia’s illegal decision. HR/VP (High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy) assured me that EU response will be resolute and united.”

On Monday, Borrell urged Putin to not recognize the pro-Moscow regions of Donbas.

He added, “We are aligned with our transatlantic partners. Russia’s illegal actions will not go unpunished.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the nation early on Tuesday saying “we don’t owe anything to anyone, and we will not give away anything to anyone” following Russia’s recent actions.

On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered what he called “peacekeeping” troops into two pro-Moscow regions of eastern Ukraine, after recognizing their independence. 

Zelensky added that Ukraine’s international borders will “remain as such” despite Russia’s “declarations and threats," and he said Ukraine counted on the “clear and effective steps” from its international supporters.

He said Ukraine had initiated an emergency meeting with the Normandy Four, which include Germany, Russia, Ukraine and France.

He warned that Putin’s latest move undermined current “peaceful” negotiations and “may mean a one-sided exit of Russian Federation out of the Minsk Agreement and ignoring of Normandy agreement."

Zelensky reiterated that Ukraine wanted “peace” though had been prepared for a Russian act of aggression for a “long time."

To Ukrainian citizens, he said Ukraine would deal with the crisis calmly and confidently, and he thanked the entire nation for their cool-headed reaction to the latest developments. He assured citizens there was no reason for a “sleepless night.”

US officials have had private conversations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky about going to Lviv — a city more than 300 miles (480 kilometers) from the capital of Kyiv — should such a step become necessary as Russia continues to escalate, according to sources familiar with the conversations. 

The White House has publicly said Zelensky's whereabouts are ultimately a decision for him to make. 

Australia condemned Russian leader Vladimir Putin's decision to order Russian troops into two pro-Moscow regions in eastern Ukraine and said it will be in "lockstep" with other countries over Russia, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Tuesday.

“I can assure you the moment that other countries put in place strong and severe sanctions on Russia, we will be in lockstep with them, and we'll be moving just as quickly,” Morrison said during a media briefing on Australia’s investment in Antarctica.

Morrison also said that “some suggestion” Russian troops that entered into two pro-Moscow regions in eastern Ukraine are peacekeeping troops is “nonsense.”

“Russia should step back. It should unconditionally withdraw, back behind its own borders, and stop threatening its neighbors,” Morrison added. “It's unacceptable, it's unprovoked, it's unwarranted.”

RTVI, a Russian media outlet, posted video of a military convoy moving through the streets of the city of Donetsk late Monday.

Donetsk is the capital of the self-declared Donetsk People's Republic in eastern Ukraine, which Russian President Vladimir Putin moved to recognize as independent earlier Monday.

The convoy included towed howitzers but could not be positively identified as Russian. Both the Russian backed separatists in Donetsk and the Russian army have the type of weaponry observed.  

Principal Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer said Russia’s move to recognize the independence of two separatist pro-Moscow regions in eastern Ukraine regions “is a step away from diplomacy.”

Finer added that while the US is “not closing the door to diplomacy,” scheduled meetings between Secretary of State Tony Blinken and his Russian counterpart and a possible meeting between Biden and Putin “will depend on what happens in the coming days.”

Finer also noted that Russia's current activity shuts down the possibility of further peaceful discussions.

“We've also been quite clear that there can be no diplomatic meeting either with the foreign ministers, the secretary of state and Foreign Minister Lavrov, or with the President, if Russia takes further military action in Ukraine,” said Finer.

Meanwhile, said Finer, the most recent intelligence “absolutely” points to the possibility of Russian military action.

“We fully expect that Russia will take this military action,” he said. “We have offered them, and we continue to hold out some prospect of a diplomatic off-ramp for Russia, should they choose to deescalate the conflict that way, but all signs that we see on the ground, including the pageantry that unfolded the Kremlin today suggests a step toward additional military action, not diplomacy.”

The UN Security Council is expected to convene an urgent meeting tonight at 9 p.m. ET at the request of the Ukrainians, two UN diplomats tell CNN. 

This will be an open session where all member nations — including the Russians and the US — are expected to make statements. 

“The Kremlin’s actions today are a wholesale rejection of the Minsk agreements and a violation of UN Security Council Resolution 2202 (2015). Russia’s announcement is nothing more than theater, apparently designed to create a pretext for a further invasion of Ukraine,” she said.

Thomas-Greenfield also said it was “an unprovoked violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity” for President Putin to recognize parts as the Donbas region "independent states.” 

Following Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to order Russian troops into two separatist pro-Moscow regions in eastern Ukraine, Rep. Ted Lieu said Putin's actions and words show "his goal and intent is to take over all of Ukraine."

"This action by [Russian President Vladimir] Putin further confirms that [GOP Sen.] Mitt Romney was right when he called Russia the No. 1 geopolitical foe. Depending on where their forces go, it could determine whether we enter a very large war or not," Lieu told CNN's Wolf Blitzer.

"If Putin merely sends forces into the existing regions in Donbas where the Russian-backed separatists already control those regions, that will be different than if he sent his forces into the regions in which the Ukrainian forces currently control. That could be very bad," Lieu continued.

Earlier today, Putin ordered troops into two separatist pro-Moscow areas in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine — the Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic. It came just hours after he signed decrees recognizing the independence of the Moscow-backed regions.

Lieu went on to comment on the larger context of the speech Putin gave earlier on Monday.

Lieu says he feels that Putin is sending a clear message as to what his overall agenda may be.

"If you look at his build-up of troops along the border, if you look at his speech, then it looks pretty clear to me that his goal and intent is to take over all of Ukraine," he said.