President Vladimir Putin has announced on Thursday morning that Russia has commenced its military operation in the East of Ukraine. According to Putin, the operations are meant to protect the “abuse and killing” the Government of Ukraine has been carrying out for eight years now. A few minutes later, images surfaced of various cities under attack. Explosions were reported in Kharkiv (the second biggest city), Mariupol, Kramatorsk, and Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine.
Different world leaders have condemned the attacks. President of the United States, Joe Biden announced a range of sanctions against Russia in cooperation with various other allied countries. Minister-President Mark Rutte in a tweet mentioned that “he has been in contact with NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) and the European Union ” and he furthermore condemned the attacks profoundly.
Volodimir Zelenski, president of Ukraine, declared a state of emergency for 30 days and closed the entire airspace and all airports have been evacuated. On social media, different images can be seen of citizens leaving Kyiv by car while explosions go off in the background.
The United Nations have called an emergency meeting in which various ambassadors in the Security Council have condemned Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. Sergiy Kyslytsya, ambassador of Ukraine for the United Nations in a press conference mentioned that “Russia has declared war against Ukraine” and urged all nations to stand strong against the violations against Ukraine’s independence.
In turn, Vassily Nebenzia, Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations, justified his country’s actions and mentioned that Russia has no intention to occupy Ukraine. Russia has closed all airports and the southern airspace. In Belarus, various troops could be seen crossing the borders. Attacks have also been reported in Crimea. In the capital city of Ukraine, Kyiv, sirens could be heard and people have started hiding in bunkers and metro tunnels; others could be seen doing groceries.
“The popular Republics of Donbas, Luhansk, and Donetsk, petitioned Russia for help. Due to this, the decision was made to carry out military operations with the objective to protect all victims from the abuse suffered under the Kyiv regime. We are attempting to eliminate all military elements in Ukraine”, according to Putin during his national discourse on television.
After a two-year pandemic, the entire world will now be awaiting the end of the armed conflict between Ukraine and Russia.
