War fears grow as Putin orders troops to eastern Ukraine

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV, YURAS KARMANAU and LORNE COOK
Associated Press

MOSCOW (AP) — A long-feared Russian invasion of Ukraine appears to be imminent, if not already underway, with Russian President Vladimir Putin ordering forces into separatist regions of eastern Ukraine. A vaguely worded decree signed by Putin does not say if troops are on the move, and it casts the order as an effort to “maintain peace.” But it appears to dash the slim remaining hopes of averting a major conflict in Europe that could cause massive casualties, energy shortages on the continent and economic chaos around the globe. The U.N. Security Council is holding a rare nighttime emergency meeting at the request of Ukraine, the U.S. and other countries.