Ukraine-Russia war: Russia’s Putin announces military operation

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced, Thursday morning, a military operation in Ukraine to defend the "separatists" loyal to Moscow in the east of this country, while the Ukrainian Foreign Minister called for an end to the "Russian invasion."

24 February, 2022 05:53

News desk

"I have taken the decision to launch a military operation," President Vladimir Putin said in a televised speech, calling on the Ukrainian army to "disarm."

Russian news agencies quoted Putin as saying that Russia could not tolerate what he described as threats from Ukraine.

For his part, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in a tweet on Thursday, "Putin has just started a large-scale invasion of Ukraine. Peaceful Ukrainian cities are under attack."

"This is a war of aggression. Ukraine will defend itself and will win. The world can and must stop Putin. The time for action is now," he added.

In a related context, the Ukrainian Interfax agency reported missile attacks on military facilities across Ukraine, and said that Russian forces had carried out landings in the coastal cities of Odessa and Mariupol in the south.

T/S

ANHA