Russians turn on Vladimir Putin over Ukraine crisis as land grab backfires: 'We'll lose money!'

A vaguely-worded decree signed by Putin late on Monday did not say if Russian troops were on the move, and it cast his order as an effort to “maintain peace”.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sought to project calm, telling the country in an address overnight: “We are not afraid of anyone or anything.”

In response to Putin's moves, Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny released a string of tweets criticising the Kremlin's decision to move into the Donbass region.

In one Navalny said: “These Putin's dotards do not even have an ideology - only constant and undisguised lies. They don't even bother to give their casus belli the slightest credibility."

He went on: “Both of them need one thing: to divert the attention of the people of Russia from real problems - the development of the economy, rising prices, reigning lawlessness - and switching it to the format of ‘imperial hysteria’.

“Bare propaganda is no longer enough for the senile thieves.They want blood. They want to move around tank figurines on a map of hostilities.”

The thread of tweets received thousands of likes and retweets, with some users responding with the hashtag #FreeNavalny.

Another user shared her friend’s experience: “My friend, who never formally studied Ukrainian and is half Russian, just asked me to help her quit Russian and speak only Ukrainian.

“A lot of Ukrainians post today about switching to Ukrainian only too. This made my heart melt, and I have decided to do the same. Long overdue.”

Navalny went on to suggest that by invading Ukraine, Russia would also be damaged: “Thanks to Putin, hundreds of Ukrainians and Russian citizens may die now, and in the future, this number may reach tens of thousands.

“Yes, he will not allow Ukraine to develop, he will drag it into the swamp, but Russia will pay the same price.

“We have everything for powerful development in the 21st century, from oil to educated citizens, but we will lose money again and squander the historical chance for a normal rich life for the sake of war, dirt, lies and the palace with golden eagles in Gelendzhik.”

The US and other Western nations have pressed for diplomatic efforts to head off a dangerous military confrontation.

Western powers have long made clear the fate of Ukraine must not lead to a direct military confrontation with Russia and the potential of a world war, so sanctions were the limited option.