Portal:Current events/2022 February 21

February 21, 2022 (Monday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Russo-Ukrainian War
- 2021–2022 Russo-Ukrainian crisis
  - International recognition of the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic
    - The European Union says it is prepared to issue sanctions against Russia if the country recognizes the Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic, breakaway regions of Ukraine that declared independence in 2014. Ukraine considers the quasi-states terrorist organizations. (Reuters)
    - Russian President Vladimir Putin signs decrees recognising the independence of the Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic with immediate effect. He also asks the parliament to ratify the treaties on friendship and mutual aid with the breakaway territories. (BBC News) (Axios) (CNN)
    - President Putin addresses the nation and declares that Ukraine is a country with "no tradition of independent statehood and an artificial creation of Soviet Union founder Vladimir Lenin", and that the country has become a "U.S. puppet regime rife with corruption". He also reiterates his claim that Ukraine joining NATO would be a security risk to Russia. (Reuters) (CNN International) (Sputnik)
  - Russian Armed Forces are deployed to the separatist republics of Donetsk and Luhansk for a "peacekeeping mission", shortly after Russia recognized the independence of the republics. (Axios)
  - A senior U.S. official says Russian troops could move into the separatist regions of Ukraine by the end of the day. (CNN)
  - A large column of military vehicles, including tanks, is reported on the outskirts of Donetsk city hours after Russia formally recognised the self-proclaimed republic as an independent state. (Reuters)
  - Russia says that it has killed five Ukrainian soldiers who tried to infiltrate its territory. Ukraine disputes the claim as "fake news". (Reuters)
- Reactions to the 2021–2022 Russo-Ukrainian crisis
  - The U.S. State Department evacuates its remaining diplomats in Ukraine to Poland. (The Straits Times)
  - National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan states that the United States will rally the international community to hold Russia accountable should it invade Ukraine. (CBS News)
  - The U.S. says it will impose sanctions on the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic in response to Putin recognizing their independence and sovereignty. (The Guardian)
- War in Donbas
  - Separatist forces shell the village of Zaitseve, Donetsk Oblast, killing two Ukrainian soldiers and a civilian. (The Times of Israel)

Business and economy

Suisse secrets
- In response to yesterday's leak of client data from Credit Suisse, Switzerland's second largest bank, the EU's European Commission is asked to "re-evaluate Switzerland as a high-risk money-laundering country" by the European People's Party, which is the group with the largest number of seats in the European Parliament. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

Gbomblora explosion
- At least 63 people are killed and 40 others injured by an explosion at a gold mine in Gbomblora, Poni, Burkina Faso. (Reuters)
An Iranian F-5 jet crashes into a school in Tabriz, East Azerbaijan Province, killing both pilots as well as a person on the ground. (Reuters)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong
    - Hong Kong reports a record 7,533 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the territory to 60,383. (The Standard)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Jordan
    - Jordanian Prime Minister Bisher Al-Khasawneh tested positive for COVID-19 while leading his country delegation in Cairo. (AP)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea
    - South Korea surpasses 2 million COVID-19 cases. (The Korea Herald)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
  - COVID-19 pandemic in England
    - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says that he is lifting domestic coronavirus restrictions in England, including the legal requirement for people with COVID-19 to self-isolate, from February 24. As part of the plan, free self-testing will end by April 1. (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
- COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa, COVID-19 vaccination in South Africa
  - South Africa changes its COVID-19 vaccination rules to allow mixing of vaccines between the Pfizer–BioNTech and Janssen COVID-19 vaccines for second and third doses and also reduces the interval between the second and third doses of the Pfizer vaccine in order to increase the country's vaccination rate. (CNA)

International relations

Israel–Morocco relations
- Morocco's trade minister, Ryad Mezzour, and Israel's economy minister, Orna Barbivai, sign a trade deal in Rabat. (National Post)
China–United States relations
- Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin announces that China will sanction American defense contractors Lockheed Martin and Raytheon after the United States approved a US$100 million missile defense repair deal between the two companies and Taiwan. (Al Jazeera English)

Law and crime

Abortion in Colombia
- The Constitutional Court decriminalizes abortion in all cases for up to six months of gestation, and removes time limits in cases of rape, fetal defects, or if the mother's life is in danger. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

Aftermath of the 2022 Burkina Faso coup d'état
- Burkinabé President Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba orders an inquiry into the deaths of two civilians during last month's coup d'état. (Agence France-Presse via Barron's)