Putin vows retaliation against those who will interfere in Russia’s Ukraine operations
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the start of military operations in Ukraine early Thursday, February 24, to defend separatists in the east of the country, and even vowed retaliation against those who will interfere with the Russian operations.
“I have made the decision of a military operation,” he said in a surprise statement on television shortly before 6 am (0300 GMT).
The Russian president even vowed retaliation against those who interfere with Russian Ukraine operation.
With the announcement, US President Joe Biden said the Russian attack on Ukraine will cause ‘catastrophic loss of life and human suffering.’
He condemned the ‘unprovoked and unjustified attack’ by Russia against Ukraine
“The prayers of the entire world are with the people of Ukraine tonight as they suffer an unprovoked and unjustified attack by Russian military forces. President Putin has chosen a premeditated war that will bring a catastrophic loss of life and human suffering,” the US President said.
“Russia alone is responsible for the death and destruction this attack will bring, and the United States and its Allies and partners will respond in a united and decisive way. The world will hold Russia accountable,” he said.
Biden said he would be “monitoring the situation from the White House this evening and will continue to get regular updates from my national security team.”
-Biden to meet with G7 counterparts-
“Tomorrow, I will meet with my G7 counterparts in the morning and then speak to the American people to announce the further consequences the United States and our Allies and partners will impose on Russia for this needless act of aggression against Ukraine and global peace and security. We will also coordinate with our NATO Allies to ensure a strong, united response that deters any aggression against the Alliance. Tonight, Jill and I are praying for the brave and proud people of Ukraine,” Biden said.
Before this, members of the UN Security Council pleaded with Russia to step back from the brink of war over Ukraine.
-UN appeals for Putin to stop operations in Ukraine-
The appeals were led by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres who made a direct, impassioned appeal to the Russian president at the start of the second emergency Security Council session in three days.
“President Putin, stop your troops from attacking Ukraine, give peace a chance, too many people have already died,” Guterres said during the second emergency Security Council meeting in three days over the Russia-Ukraine crisis.
Just minutes later, Putin made a surprise speech on Russian TV, announcing he had “made the decision of a military operation.”
Although his announcement came just after the start of the Security Council session, the members who spoke stuck to their prepared speeches, which largely echoed Guterres’ appeal.
US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield appealed to Putin to “back away from the brink.”
“Send your troops and your tanks and your planes back to their barracks and hangars and send your diplomats to the negotiating table,” she said.
Accusing Putin of being willing to sacrifice countless lives to his “cynical ambition,” Thomas-Greenfield vowed that the international community would stand united against Russian aggression.
Warnings of a possible Russian invasion had mounted over weeks, as Moscow massed troops on Ukraine’s borders and earlier this week recognized the independence of two breakaway eastern Ukraine regions.
Putin has defied a barrage of international criticism over the crisis, with some Western leaders saying he was no longer rational.
His announcement of military action came after the Kremlin said rebel leaders in eastern Ukraine had asked Moscow for military help against Kyiv, and ahead of a last-ditch summit involving European Union leaders in Brussels planned for Thursday.
(Eagle News Service with Agence France Presse reports)
