The United Nations has summoned an emergency meeting as Russian President Vladimir Putin launches an attack on Ukrainian territory.
On the request of Ukraine and the United States, an extraordinary Security Council meeting was conducted in the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Thursday, February 24th, after Vladimir Putin announced a military intervention in Ukraine.
Following Putin’s statement, missile strikes were heard in Ukraine’s Kyiv, Donbas, and Odessa regions.
On Thursday, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky declared martial law throughout the country, encouraging inhabitants to remain calm. He had previously stated that he had attempted to contact Putin on Wednesday but that the Russian leader had not returned his calls.
Now, the UN secretary general has urged Putin to bring back his troops to Russia and stop “what could be the worst war since the beginning of the century.”
“This is the saddest moment in my tenure as Secretary General of the United Nations,” Guterres began.
Guterres warned Putin that Russian military action could not only be “devastating for Ukraine” and “tragic” for Russia “but with an impact we can not even foresee in relation to their consequences for the global economy.”
“In a moment when we are emerging from Covid and so many developing countries absolutely need to have space for the recovery, which would be very, very difficult with the high prices of oil, with the exports of wheat from Ukraine and with rising interest rates caused by instability in international markets,” he added.
“This conflict must stop now.”
“Please stop attacking Ukraine ”
