UPDATE: Feb. 23, 2022 — 11:35 p.m.
MOSCOW/KYIV (Reuters) -Russian forces fired missiles at several Ukrainian cities and landed troops on its south coast on Thursday, officials and media said, after President Vladimir Putin authorised what he called a special military operation in the east.
Shortly after Putin spoke in a televised address on Russian state TV, explosions could be heard in the pre-dawn quiet of the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. Gunfire rattled near the capital’s main airport, the Interfax news agency said.
“Putin has just launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Peaceful Ukrainian cities are under strikes,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Twitter.
“This is a war of aggression. Ukraine will defend itself and will win. The world can and must stop Putin. The time to act is now.”
U.S. President Joe Biden said his prayers were with the people of Ukraine “as they suffer an unprovoked and unjustified attack by Russian military forces”.
Russia has been demanding an end to NATO’s eastward expansion.
Putin said he had authorised the special military operation in breakaway areas of eastern Ukraine after Russia had been left with no choice but to defend itself against what he said were threats emanating from modern Ukraine.
“Russia cannot feel safe, develop, and exist with a constant threat emanating from the territory of modern Ukraine,” Putin said. “All responsibility for bloodshed will be on the conscience of the ruling regime in Ukraine.”
The full scope of the Russian military operation was not immediately clear but Putin said: “Our plans do not include the occupation of Ukrainian territories. We are not going to impose anything by force.”
Speaking as the U.N. Security Council held an emergency meeting in New York, Putin said he had ordered Russian forces to protect the people and appealed to the Ukrainian military to lay down their arms.
Ukraine‘s military command centres in Kyiv and the city of Kharkiv in the northeast had been struck by missiles, a Ukrainian news site cited an official as saying, while Russian troops had landed in the southern port cities of Odessa and Mariupol, Interfax Ukraine reported.
Explosions also rocked the breakaway eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk and civilian aircraft were warned away from the region.
Hours earlier, pro-Russian separatists issued a plea to Moscow for help to stop alleged Ukrainian aggression – claims the United States dismissed as Russian propaganda.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Wednesday said Moscow had approved an offensive and had not replied to an invitation for talks.
Putin repeated his position that NATO expansion to include Ukraine was unacceptable and said Russia had been left with no choice but to defend itself against what he said were threats emanating from Ukraine.
‘DECISIVE WAY’
Biden said Putin had chosen a premeditated war that would bring a catastrophic loss of life and human suffering.
“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.
He said he would announce further sanctions on Russia on Thursday, in addition to financial measures imposed this week.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg strongly condemned Russia’s “reckless and unprovoked attack” on Ukraine and said NATO allies would meet to tackle the consequences of Moscow’s “aggressive actions”.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres made a last-minute plea to Putin to stop the war “in the name of humanity’, after the Russian leader announced the military operation.
“President Putin, in the name of humanity, bring your troops back to Russia,” Guterres said, speaking after the Security Council meeting.
The consequences of a war would be devastating for Ukraine and far-reaching for the global economy, he said.
Russia’s U.N. envoy said his country was not being aggressive against the Ukrainian people but against the “junta” in Kyiv.
Ukraine earlier restricted civilian flights in its airspace due to “potential hazard”, hours after a conflict zone monitor warned airlines should stop overflights over the risk of an unintended shooting down or cyber attack.
Convoys of military equipment including nine tanks were seen moving towards Donetsk earlier on Wednesday from the direction of the Russian border, a Reuters witness reported.
Shelling had intensified since Monday when Putin recognised two separatist regions as independent and ordered the deployment of what he called peacekeepers, a move the West called the start of an invasion.
The Ukrainian government on Wednesday also announced compulsory military service for all men of fighting age.
Western countries and Japan imposed sanctions on Russian banks and individuals but have held off their toughest measures until an invasion began.
The United States stepped up the pressure on Wednesday by imposing penalties on the Russian firm building the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline and its corporate officers.
Germany on Tuesday froze approvals for the pipeline, which has been built but was not yet in operation, amid concerns it could allow Moscow to weaponize energy supplies to Europe.
(Reporting by Reuters bureaus; Writing by Stephen Coates, Robert Birsel; Editing by Lincoln Feast)
UPDATE: Feb. 23, 2022 — 10:05 p.m.
KYIV/DONETSK (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin authorised a military operation in eastern Ukraine on Thursday in what appeared to be the start of war in Europe over Russia’s demands for an end to NATO’s eastward expansion.
Shortly after Putin spoke in a special televised address on Russian state TV, explosions could be heard in the pre-dawn quiet of the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. Gunfire rattled near the capital’s main airport, the Interfax news agency said.
Explosions also rocked the breakaway eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk and civilian aircraft were warned away as the United States said a major attack by Russia on its neighbour was imminent.
Putin said he had authorised a special military operation in breakaway areas of eastern Ukraine and clashes between Russian and Ukrainian forces were only a matter of time.
Hours earlier, pro-Russian separatists issued a plea to Moscow for help to stop alleged Ukrainian aggression – claims the United States dismissed as Russian propaganda.
Putin said he had ordered Russian forces to protect the people and demanded Ukrainian forces lay down their arms.
“All responsibility for bloodshed will be on the conscience of the ruling regime in Ukraine,” Putin said.
He repeated his position that NATO expansion to include Ukraine was unacceptable and said Russia had been left with no choice but to defend itself against what he said were threats emanating from Ukraine.
The scope of the Russian military operation was not immediately clear. Moscow has long denied that it has plans to invade despite massing tens of thousands of troops near its neighbour.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday that Moscow had approved an offensive and had not replied to an invitation for talks.
“Today I initiated a telephone conversation with the President of the Russian Federation. The result was silence,” he said.
U.S. President Joe Biden said his prayers were with the people of Ukraine “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. 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 he would announce further sanctions on Russia on Thursday, in addition to financial measures imposed this week.
The Russian operations began as the U.N. Security Council held an emergency meeting on the Ukraine crisis in New York.
A draft resolution calling out Moscow over its actions toward its neighbour is doomed to fail due to Russia veto power, however a Security Council diplomat said it would put Russia on notice that it is “not in compliance with international law.”
‘PROVIDE SAFETY’
Ukraine restricted civilian flights in its airspace due to “potential hazard”, hours after a conflict zone monitor warned airlines should stop overflights over the risk of an unintended shooting down or cyber attack.
An El Al flight from Tel Aviv to Toronto and a LOT Polish Airlines flight from Warsaw to Kyiv turned out of Ukraine‘s airspace around the time a notice was issued, according to flight tracking website FlightRadar24.
Russia also partially closed its airspace in the Rostov flight information region to the east of its border with Ukraine “in order to provide safety” for civil aviation flights, according to its notice to airmen.
Convoys of military equipment including nine tanks were seen moving towards Donetsk earlier on Wednesday from the direction of the Russian border, a Reuters witness reported.
Shelling has intensified since Monday when Putin recognised two separatist regions as independent and ordered the deployment of what he called peacekeepers, a move the West calls the start of an invasion.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen spoke separately with her counterparts from Britain and Canada, while G7 leaders are also due to talk on Thursday.
Satellite imagery taken on Wednesday showed new deployments in western Russia, many of them within 10 miles (16 km) of the border with Ukraine and less than 50 miles from the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, U.S. satellite company Maxar said.
The images showed field deployment, military convoys, artillery and armoured personnel carriers with support equipment and troops. The images could not be independently verified by Reuters.
A 30-day state of emergency in Ukraine restricting the freedom of movement of conscripted reservists, curbing the media and imposing personal document checks, according to a draft text, begins on Thursday.
The Ukrainian government has also announced compulsory military service for all men of fighting age.
Western countries and Japan imposed sanctions on Russian banks and individuals but have held off their toughest measures until an invasion began.
The United States stepped up the pressure on Wednesday by imposing penalties on the Russian firm building the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline and its corporate officers.
Germany on Tuesday froze approvals for the pipeline, which has been built but was not yet in operation, amid concerns it could allow Moscow to weaponize energy supplies to Europe.
(Reporting by Reuters bureaus; Writing by Stephen Coates; Editing by Lincoln Feast)
ORIGINAL STORY:
(Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin authorised a special military operation in Ukraine’s Donbass region in the early hours of Thursday morning and told the Ukrainian military to lay down their weapons and go home.
In a special televised address on Russian state TV, Putin said Russia has been left with no choice but to defend itself against what he said were threats emanating from modern Ukraine.
The scope of the Russian military operation was not immediately clear. A Reuters reporter in Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, heard explosions which sounded like artillery shelling in the distance.
Putin said Russia would respond instantly if any external force tried to interfere with its actions and that Moscow would try to de-militarise and ‘de-Nazify’ Ukraine.
Putin’s comments come after the United States said Russia had stationed nearly 150,000 troops near Ukraine’s borders and after Russian-backed separatists appealed to him for military help against what they said was growing Ukrainian aggression.
Kyiv has denied any such aggression.
“All responsibility for bloodshed will be on the conscience of the ruling regime in Ukraine,” Putin told state TV.
(Reporting by Polina Nikolskaya, David Ljunggren, Olzhas Auyezov; Editing by Andrew Osborn)
