Related Articles
London – Times of Egypt
In his speech at the brink of dawn on Thursday morning, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced conducting a “special military operation” against the Ukrainian regime in Kyiv.
Immediately afterwards, Ukraine sounded its raid sirens all over the country, following Russian air raids and missile attacks on all major cities, airports and military bases. Western reports say, “Ukrainians were awoken in shock by blasts from intermittent attacks on residential blocks, news of Russian advancements in separatist regions of Luhansk and Donetsk, which are part of Ukraine’s eastern region of Donbas”.
Putin justified the goal of the “special military operation” as to “protect the people who, over eight years, suffered from abuse and genocide from the Kyiv regime”.
“We urge you to lay down arms immediately and go home. All servicemen of the Ukrainian army who comply with this requirement can freely leave the area of military actions and return to their families”, Putin stressed.
He aggressively threatened, “whoever would try to stop us and further create threats to our country and our people should know that Russia’s response will be immediate and lead you to such consequences that you have never faced in your history. We are ready for any outcome”.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on all citizens to join the war against Russia’s aggression on Thursday. “We are already handing out weapons, and will hand them out to defend our country, to anyone who wants and has the capacity to defend our sovereignty”, Zelenskyy said in his first address to the Nation.
“We broke off diplomatic relations with Russia. Ukraine will be defending itself and will not give up its freedom no matter what Moscow thinks. The Ukrainian armed forces are indeed involved in heavy fighting, repelling attacks in Donbass and other regions in the East, North and South”, Zelenskyy added.
The Ukrainian army said its forces are fighting to reclaim control of the Antonov airbase, which is located nearly 20 miles away from the capital Kyiv. However, on the ground the airbase appears to be under Russian control, in which Russian airborne troops were seen securing the perimeters.
In a second press conference, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy cited heavy clashes in Chernobyl, the destruction of Russian aircraft and land vehicles, and the capture of Russian soldiers. He said the Ukrainian forces successfully defended the Eastern Donbas region and fighting in near Kharkiv.
Zelenskyy announced martial law, and later in the day Kyiv’s Mayor Vitali Klitschko declared a curfew in the capital between 10 pm and 7 am. “This is a forced step, but in the current conditions of military aggression and martial law, it is necessary for the safety of the capital’s residents”, Klitschko stressed.
According to the Ukrainian President’s office, Russian attacks are not solely targeting military facilities, but also civilian infrastructure. Attacks were reported to have reached a hospital in Vuhledar and residential neighbourhoods in Mariupol.
Western condemnations and sanctions
The United Kingdom’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson addressed the British public in a speech on Thursday afternoon. He announced his country’s full support to restore Ukraine’s freedom and sovereignty.
“The President of Russia has unleashed war on our European continent. He has attacked a friendly country without any provocation and without any credible excuse. Innumerable missiles and bombs have been raining down on an entirely innocent population. A vast invasion is underway by land, sea and air. We and the world cannot allow that freedom just to be snuffed out. We cannot and will not just look away”, Johnson stressed.
In his speech, he urged the Russian public and parents of soldiers to spare their children’s lives from death in this war. He also reaffirmed the UK’s support to the people of the Ukraine and reassured the British public of doing everything “to keep our country safe”.
“This act of wanton and reckless aggression is an attack not just on Ukraine. It’s an attack on democracy and freedom in eastern Europe and around the world. This crisis is about the right of a free sovereign independent European people to choose their own future, and that is a right the UK will always defend”, he added.
Johnson has also announced a fresh set of sanctions on Russia following its invasion. The sanctions include:
- Freezing the assets of all Russian banks and their exclusion from the UK financial system.
- A stop to major Russian companies and the state from raising finances or borrowing money on UK markets.
- The assets of 100 individuals or entities will be frozen.
- A ban on Russian flag carrier ‘Aeroflot’ from landing in the UK.
- A suspension of dual use export licences covering items that can be used for military purposes.
- The UK will stop exports of hi-tech items and oil refinery equipment.
- The UK will set a deposit limit on Russians using UK bank accounts.
- A potential exclusion of Russia from SWIFT payments.
- Belarus will receive similar financial sanctions, due to its role in the assault on Ukraine.
President of the European Commission Ursula Von der Leyen also condemned the attacks, during a press conference.
“Earlier this morning Russian troops invaded Ukraine, a free and sovereign country. Once again in the centre of Europe, innocent women, men and children are dying or fear for their lives. We condemn this barbaric attack and the cynical arguments to justify it”.
Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock also condemned the invasion. She said that her country and the European Union are “compiling a list of sanctions to impose on Russia immediately”.
The United States’ President Joe Biden reiterated in a speech that “US forces are not and will not be engaged in the conflict with Russia in Ukraine”.
“Our forces are not going to Europe to fight in Ukraine, but to defend our NATO allies and reassure those allies in the East. The United States will defend every inch of NATO territory with the full force of American power”, Biden stressed.
The US has deployed thousands of its troops in NATO territory near Ukraine, which include 5,400 troops in Poland, 1,000 in Romania, 500 in Lithuania and 200 in Bulgaria.
