US, allies will respond to 'unjustified' attack by Russia on Ukraine, warns President Joe Biden

WASHINGTON: The United States and its allies will respond in a united and decisive way to "an unprovoked and unjustified attack by Russian military forces" on Ukraine, President Joe Biden said after blasts were heard in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv.

"President (Vladimir) Putin has chosen a premeditated war that will bring a catastrophic loss of life and human suffering," Biden said in a statement. "Russia alone is responsible for the death and destruction this attack will bring. The world will hold Russia accountable," Biden added.

Biden said he would announce on Thursday further consequences to be imposed on Russia by the United States and its allies.

The prayers of the world are with the people of Ukraine tonight 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. https://t.co/Q7eUJ0CG3k

— President Biden (@POTUS) February 24, 2022

The strong condemnation from the US President and allies came after Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday announced a military operation in Ukraine, claiming it's intended to protect civilians. In a televised address, Putin said the action comes in response to threats coming from Ukraine. He added that Russia doesn't have a goal to occupy Ukraine. Putin said the responsibility for the bloodshed lies with the Ukrainian ‘regime’.

Putin warned other countries that any attempt to interfere with the Russian action would lead to ‘consequences they have never seen.’ He also accused the US and its allies of ignoring Russia's demand to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO and offer Moscow security guarantees.

The Russian leader said the Russian military operation aims to ensure a ‘demilitarisation’ of Ukraine. Putin said that all Ukrainian servicemen who lay down arms will be able to safely leave the zone of combat.

There was no immediate reaction from the White House to Putin's remarks, but US officials have repeatedly pledged to place overwhelming sanctions on the Russian economy and Putin allies in retaliation for a further invasion of Ukraine.

The fast-paced developments came after the UN Security Council held an emergency meeting on the Russia-Ukraine conflict. During the meeting, the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres and the world leaders told Russian President Vladimir Putin to not send Russian troops against Ukraine and 'give peace a chance.'

Guterres opened an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council late Wednesday saying the day was full of rumours and indications that an offensive against Ukraine is imminent.

 The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting on Ukraine for Wednesday night, just hours after diplomats from dozens of countries took the floor at the General Assembly to deplore Russia's actions toward the country and plead for diplomacy as fears of a new war in Europe grew.

Citing an 'immediate threat of Russian offensive', Ukraine had requested the council session after Russia said that rebels in eastern Ukraine had asked Moscow for military assistance.

The council, where Russia holds the rotating presidency this month, met just two days after another emergency session saw no support for Russia's decision to recognise two rebel regions of Ukraine as independent and to order Russian troops there for 'peacekeeping.'

Council diplomats are now finalising a draft of a resolution that would declare that Russia is violating the UN Charter, international law, and a 2015 council resolution on Ukraine, a diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the discussions were private. The resolution would urge Russia to come back into compliance immediately, the diplomat said.

At the General Assembly meeting earlier Wednesday, Russia and ally Syria defended Moscow's moves. But even China, which usually takes Russia's side at the UN, spoke up for the world body's longstanding principle of respecting countries' sovereignty and internationally recognised borders, while not mentioning Russia by name.

Meeting a day after Western powers and some other countries imposed new sanctions on Russia, the 193-member General Assembly didn't take any collective action. But the comments from nearly 70 nations, with more scheduled for Monday, represented the broadest forum of global sentiment since the crisis dramatically escalated this week.

Countries from Guatemala to Turkey to Japan condemned Russia's embrace of the separatist regions' independence claims or voiced support for Ukraine. "Ukraine, you're not alone,'' Bulgarian Ambassador Lachezara Stoeva said. US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield exhorted countries 'to get off the sidelines.'

Thomas-Greenfield warned that the confrontation could spiral into a refugee crisis, estimating that as 5 million people could be displaced and could make food prices spike in developing countries where Ukraine supplies wheat.

Syria accused the West of using the assembly to pressure Moscow. "The Ukrainian crisis was created by the Western states, led by the United States, to divide people and to undermine Russian security," Ambassador Bassam al-Sabbagh said.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba implored countries to use tough economic sanctions, strong messages and 'active diplomacy' to get Russia to back off. A lacklustre response would jeopardise not only Ukraine but the concept of international law and global security, he warned. "We need to use this last chance for action and stop Russia where it is,'' Kuleba said.

Russia seized Ukraine's Crimea Peninsula in 2014, and pro-Russia rebels have since been fighting Ukrainian forces in the eastern areas of Donetsk and Luhansk. More than 14,000 people have been killed in the conflict.

After weeks of rising tension as Moscow massed over 150,000 troops on Ukraine's borders, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday recognised the two regions' independence and ordered Russian forces there as what he called ''peacekeepers." UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres disputed that, saying they are troops entering another country without its consent.