Russia declares war on Ukraine, and Putin authorizes a military operation
On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a military operation in Ukraine, followed by explosions in the capital. Also other parts of the country, prompting outrage from Joe Biden, who warned of “catastrophic loss of life.”
Weeks of intense diplomacy to avert war, as well as the imposition of Western sanctions on Russia, failed to deter Putin. Who had amassed between 150,000 and 200,000 troops along Ukraine’s borders. “I have decided to launch a military operation,” Putin announced on television shortly before 6:00 a.m. in Moscow.
He also poked Ukrainian soldiers to lay down their weapons also justified the attack by claiming “genocide” in Ukraine’s east.
The Kremlin had previously stated that rebel leaders in eastern Ukraine had asked Moscow for military assistance against Kiev.
Within 30 minutes of Putin’s announcement, an AFP reporter in Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, heard explosions. According to AFP, explosions were also heard in the eastern city of Mariupol and the Black Sea port of Odessa.
US Vice President Joe Biden immediately warned Russia of “consequences” and stated that the world would “hold Russia accountable” for its actions. He warned that Russia’s move would result in “catastrophic loss of life and human suffering. While NATO’s top commander condemned Russia’s “reckless and unprovoked attack” on Ukraine.
Ukraine urged the United Nations to “do everything possible” to end the conflict. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky made an emotional plea to Russians late Wednesday night not to support a “major war in Europe.”
Speaking in Russian, Zelensky stated that the Russian people were being misled about Ukraine.
Zelensky stated that he attempted to contact Putin but received “no answer, only silence. Adding that Moscow now has approximately 200,000 soldiers stationed near Ukraine’s borders. Earlier on Wednesday, the separatist leaders of Donetsk and Lugansk wrote to Putin. Pleading with him to “assist them in repelling Ukraine’s charge,” according to Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
The two letters, both date February 22, were issue by Russian state media. Their appeals came after Putin acknowledged their independence and signed friendship treaties with them, which included defence agreements.
