Digital Desk: Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation in Ukraine on Thursday, warning that any action by the other nations to intervene would result in "repercussions they have not seen."
He claimed that the attack was necessary to protect people in eastern Ukraine, a justification that the US had warned he would make to justify an invasion.
Putin criticized the US and its allies for neglecting Russia's demand to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO and providing Moscow with security guarantees in a televised speech. Russia's purpose, he stressed, was not to occupy Ukraine.
President of the United States, Joe Biden, has condemned Russia's "unprovoked and unjustified" aggression on Ukraine, saying that the world will "hold Russia accountable."
As Putin spoke, large explosions were reported in Kyiv, Kharkiv, and other parts of Ukraine.
A full-fledged Russian invasion would likely result in catastrophic bloodshed and the overthrow of Ukraine's democratically elected government. And the conflict's ramifications, including the sanctions imposed on Russia, might echo around the world, impacting European energy supplies, jolting global financial markets, and jeopardizing the continent's post-Cold War equilibrium.
According to him, the Russian military campaign intends to "demilitarise" Ukraine. "Immediately lay down guns and return home," Putin said, urging Ukrainian servicemen.
Putin announced the military operation after the Kremlin stated that rebels in eastern Ukraine had requested military assistance from Russia to help them combat Ukrainian "aggression." The announcement stoked suspicions that Moscow was using the revelation as a pretext for conflict, as the West had warned.
A short time later, Ukraine's president dismissed Moscow's allegations that his country was a threat to Russia, claiming that a Russian invasion would result in the deaths of tens of thousands of people.
"This action could mark the start of a huge conflict on the European continent," Zelensky said, referring to Putin's decision to sanction the deployment of Russian military forces in eastern Ukraine to "keep peace."
"Any provocation, any spark," he added, "may start a fire that will destroy everything."
"You are told that this flame will bring freedom to the people of Ukraine," he said, contradicting Russian propaganda. "But the Ukrainian people are free."
Earlier in the day, Ukrainian lawmakers approved a decree declaring a state of emergency across the country for 30 days beginning Thursday. In the "interests of national security and public order," the measure authorizes authorities to declare curfews and other movement restrictions, stop gatherings and ban political parties and groups.
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