Vladimir Putin announced on television a special military operation in Donbas. “Russia will fight for the demilitarization of Ukraine and will prosecute those who committed crimes against peaceful citizens,” says the Russian leader in a message to the nation.
“The objective of the operation is to protect people,” says the Russian president in his message at dawn on Thursday in his territory.
Meanwhile, European media report that explosions have been heard in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, as fears mount that shelling is taking place.
Residents of the city, which is in southeastern Ukraine, were woken at 3:30 am this morning (Thursday) by explosions 30 miles from the Russian border.
President Volodymyr Zelensky, who this morning announced the state of emergency in Ukraine, addressed an emotional message to the citizens of Ukraine and Russia on television: “We do not need war. But if the troops attack us, we will defend ourselves. And when they attack us they will see our faces, not our backs.”
Zelenski reveals that Putin did not answer his request to hold a meeting and affirms that Russia maintains 200,000 soldiers on the border in a speech on television: “Ukrainians want peace”, according to the newspaper El País.
Guterres asks Putin that his troops not attack Ukraine
On Wednesday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres directly appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin not to launch an attack on Ukraine, amid repeated reports of an imminent invasion.
“If indeed that operation is being prepared, I only have one thing to say from the bottom of my heart. President Putin, stop his troops from attacking Ukraine. Give peace a chance, too many people have died already,” Guterres said as he opened an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council. (I)
Source: Eluniverso
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