There has been a lot going on today in the Russia-Ukraine crisis. Here’s what you need to know:

• Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered troops into two rebel-held regions in eastern Ukraine, after recognising them as independent states
• He said the troops will be "peacekeeping" in the regions, but the US said that was "nonsense" and amounts to the "beginning of an invasion"

• Russia’s upper house of parliament voted in favour of giving Putin authority to deploy armed forces abroad, which formally gives him the green light to send troops into eastern Ukraine
• Putin gave a short news conference today and repeated his demand that Ukraine should not be allowed to join the Nato defence alliance
• US President Joe Biden will address the nation at 13:00 EST (18:00 GMT)
• Western countries have started to impose sanctions on Russia - the UK hit five banks and three wealthy individuals with restrictions
• Germany has put on hold a major gas pipeline project from Russia, the Nord Stream 2
• Hungary will deploy troops along its border with Ukraine
• Belarus, a close ally of Russia, plans to buy military helicopters, jets and anti-aircraft missiles systems from Russia in the coming years, local media has reported
• Nato's chief has said it's "never too late not to attack"

Image source, Getty Images

We've got some reaction from the Kremlin to Germany's decision to suspend the final approval of the gas pipeline between Russia and Germany.

The Interfax news agency is reporting Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying it regrets Germany's decision.

Peskov says the Kremlin hopes the delay of Nord Stream 2 is temporary.

Katya Adler
Europe Editor

Following Vladimir Putin‘s recognition of the two rebel-controlled regions in Eastern Ukraine, Germany has confirmed it will halt the certification process for its controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

The pipeline was designed to deliver cheaper gas from Moscow to Germany directly.

Germany was under huge pressure from the US and other EU countries to make the move.

But unity amongst Western allies will be tested when sanctions and counter sanctions bite. Some countries will be far more affected than others.

German's federation of industries, BDI, has warned soaring energy prices could pose an "existential threat" to German businesses.

Austria and Italy have also voiced reservations about a possible future sanctions package threatened by the EU that could be far bigger should Putin take further action in Ukraine.

Diplomats privately point at Hungary as a possible disrupter due to Prime Minister Viktor Orban's close ties to Moscow.

Image source, Getty Images

Hungary will deploy troops along its 137km border with Ukraine amid fears of an influx of refugees if the crisis with Russia escalates, Defence Minister Tibor Benko has said

Countries in Eastern Europe are making preparations for people fleeing Ukraine.

Hungary's armed forces will carry out humanitarian tasks as well as close the Ukraine border with Hungary "to ensure that no armed groups can enter the territory", Defence Minister Tibor Benko said.

"Hungary's security is the most important, we are reinforcing the Ukraine-Hungary border," the defence ministry said in a statement.

Hungary's nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban is known for his hard stance on migration.

In contrast, neighbour to both, Romania says it could take in half a million refugees if the crisis in Ukraine worsens.

"There are several estimates, but we could receive over 500,000 refugees, that is... the number for which we have prepared," defence minister Vasile Dîncu told reporters.

Image source, EPA

More from Nato's Jens Stoltenberg - he says every indication is that Russia continues to plan for a full-scale attack of Ukraine - and called on them to step back, adding: "It's never too late not to attack."

The alliance is now considering its next steps amid a changing security situation, which could include "battle groups" in places including Romania.

"Nato has to respond when we see aggressive actions by Russia, but we continue to strive for dialogue, for de-escalation and we believe it is important to talk," he says.

Speaking a little while ago this afternoon, Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg continued the warnings we've been hearing for a few weeks now that Russia is trying to engage in "false flag operations" to create a pretext for an attack on Ukraine.

"We know that there are many Russian intelligence officers operating in Ukraine," he said, speaking in Brussels.

And he stressed the right of nations like Ukraine to seek membership of Nato, adding: "We cannot accept a return to the age of spheres of influence where big powers bully, intimidate or dictate to others."

Before closing his brief press conference, Putin says Ukrainian talk of nuclear ambitions was aimed at Russia - and that Moscow would be in range of any Ukrainian nuclear missiles.

He also says that deployment of troops to Ukraine depends on the situation on the ground.

Putin says the best decision Ukraine could make would be to renounce its ambition to join Nato.

And he calls on Ukraine to disarm, saying an "armed to the teeth Ukraine" is anti-Russia and unacceptable.

He's speaking shortly after we heard from Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg, who said nations like Ukraine had a right to seek membership of the alliance.

Reality Check

Image source, EPA

We're hearing from Vladimir Putin at a press conference just now, but he's already ordering troops into two rebel-held regions in eastern Ukraine, after recognising them as independent states.

In his last TV address from the Kremlin, Putin sought to justify his actions by making a series of claims about Ukraine, claiming amongst other things, that it plans to "create its own nuclear weapons”.

But is that true?

Our Reality Check team has been taking a look. Read more here.

Russia's Vladimir Putin is now speaking. He's addressing a small group of reporters.

He says the Minsk peace deal concerning eastern Ukraine was killed off long before Russia moved to recognise two Ukrainian breakaway regions.

The deal, he says, no longer exists.

We're hearing that US President Joe Biden will address his nation later on the Ukraine crisis, the White House says.

He will speak at 13:00 EST (18:00 GMT). And we'll bring you all the updates here.

The upper house of Russia's parliament has voted unanimously in favour of giving President Putin authority to deploy armed forces abroad.

It formally allows Putin to send troops into the Donbas region of Ukraine.

The head of the upper house says they expect forces to carry out peacekeeping tasks - but the US has previously said calling troops peacekeepers was "nonsense".

Read more: Why is Russia ordering troops into Ukraine?

Here's some more on Putin's request to the upper house of Russia's parliament to use armed forces abroad after he earlier recognised two rebel-held regions of Ukraine as independent states.

The Russian Defence Ministry says it intends to "defend residents of the Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics". One of Russia's deputy defence ministers said Russia had been "left with no choice".

Is Russia staging 'false flag' incidents?published at 16:06 Greenwich Mean Time 22 February 2022

16:06 GMT 22 February 2022

Image source, Getty Images

The US has warned of Russia faking provocative acts - so-called "false flag" incidents which are staged to appear to come from one side in a conflict - in order to create a pretext for invasion.

Among the rumours circulating on social media are a number of alleged attacks. For example, on Friday, a video circulated, external on a Telegram channel run by Russia-backed separatists. It claimed to show a clash between an "enemy sabotage group" and pro-Russian forces in eastern Ukraine.

But open source investigators on social media, external pointed out several discrepancies which indicated the video was shot at an earlier date and had been manipulated.

And on Friday, leaders of the two separatist areas called for a mass evacuation of residents, saying Ukraine had intensified hostilities and was planning further attacks.

At one point in the video Denis Pushilin, head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, says "today, on 18 February". But a BBC analysis of the metadata showed that rather being recorded in the heat of the moment, this video was also filmed in advance - two days earlier.

Read more about the BBC's analysis of Russian false-flag operations here.

We're just hearing that Russian President Vladimir Putin has asked legislators for permission to use force outside Russia.

That could pave the way for a broader attack on Ukraine.

We will bring you more when we have it.

Myroslava Petsa
BBC News Ukrainian, Kyiv

Putin’s recognition of breakaway regions in Donbas came as no surprise to most Ukrainians, but the future is less clear.

"I feel really bitter", says Tamara from the Poltava region, who came to visit her friends in Kyiv. She sounds calm, yet determined. “But I haven't packed a grab-and-go bag just yet. Ukraine is united now and everything’s going to be fine.”

According to the latest survey that was conducted in early February, 57% of Ukrainians are ready to stand against Russia should it try to further invade Ukraine.

“We are optimists,” says Serhiy from Odesa, who came to Kyiv for a visit. “We’ve been in this for eight years already. We hope this will be a watershed moment when the whole world finally sees that something’s wrong here.”

But not everyone is as upbeat. I speak to two different men who are both internally displaced after fleeing their homes in Donbas when the war broke out there in 2014.

Mykola’s father is 75 and still lives in Luhansk. He “has been surviving through the whole ordeal”.

“I don’t know what will happen next there. Nothing good, that’s for sure … I’m 100% sure things are not going to get better there.”

Another displaced Ukrainian man, Artem, 40, says he won’t leave Kyiv, his second home.

“I won’t run away any more. I’m done with it. There’s nowhere to run any more. We fled our home when my son was three because of the shooting and shelling.”

His son Damir, 10, tells me of his love for Kyiv and of his dream of becoming a chef one day. Damir, contrary to his Russian-speaking father, speaks Ukrainian.

Hanna and her daughter have relatives in Donbas.

"I hope we’ll have a chance to hug the people over there who are cut off from us," Hanna says.

But as of now, with checkpoints at the self-proclaimed republics closed, this is not possible.

The foreign ministers of the G7 group of the world's largest economies have agreed to condemn Russia's recognition of two breakaway regions in Ukraine, Japan's foreign minister says.

Yoshimasa Hayashi tells reporters, ministers ruled that Russia's recognition of the two regions as independent was in violation of Ukraine sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as international law.

The US has said that Russia's move to order troops to eastern Ukraine amounts to the "beginning of an invasion".

Speaking to CNN, US deputy national security adviser Jonathan Finer said "we think this is, yes, the beginning of an invasion, Russia's latest invasion into Ukraine".

When asked to clarify the US' stance, he said: "An invasion is an invasion, and that is what is under way".

He added that "severe" sanctions would be announced shortly in response to Russia's actions.

Image source, Getty Images

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has told his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky that Turkey opposed any decision targeting Ukraine's territorial integrity, after Russia said it was recognising two regions in eastern Ukraine as independent.

The United States and European Union are mulling sanctions against Russia.

Turkey, which has a maritime border with Ukraine and Russia in the Black Sea, opposes sanctions in principle.

In a call with Zelensky, Erdogan said he found Russia's decision unacceptable and called "for all of the resources of diplomacy to be used in the international arena" to resolve the crisis.

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

Belarus plans to buy military helicopters, jets and anti-aircraft missile systems from Russia in the coming years, the state-run Belta news agency cited leader Alexander Lukashenko as saying.

Lukashenko, a close ally of Vladimir Putin, said Belarus wanted to scale up its military co-operation with Russia to boost its defence capabilities at a time of rising tensions in Europe.

It comes after Moscow recognised the independence of two separatist regions in east Ukraine.