Kyiv: 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 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 accused the US and its allies of ignoring Russia's demand to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO and offer Moscow security guarantees.
He 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.
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has made a direct and strong appeal to Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop his troops from attacking Ukraine and "give peace a chance".
Guterres addressed an emergency UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine late Wednesday night, the second meeting this week and the fourth since January 31 as tensions escalated between Russia and Ukraine. Earlier in the day, the UN chief had addressed the UN General Assembly meeting on Ukraine.
Unprovoked, unjustified: US
US President Joe Biden denounces "unprovoked and unjustified" attack on Ukraine, pledges world will 'hold Russia accountable".
At the U.N. Security Council, the United States had said shortly before Putin's announcement said that an invasion was imminent.
"Tonight we’re seeing the Russians close airspace, move troops into Donbas, and move forces into combat-ready positions. This is a perilous moment."
India calls for de-escalation
India called for an immediate de-escalation of tensions between Russia and Ukraine and cautioned that the situation is in danger of spiraling into a major crisis.
India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador T S Tirumurti told the Council that New Delhi had only two days ago at the Council meeting on Ukraine called for urgent de-escalation of tensions and emphasised on sustained and focused diplomacy to address all issues concerning the situation.
Ukraine restricted civilian flights in its airspace due to "potential hazard", hours after a conflict zone monitor warned airlines should stop overflights over the risk of an unintended shootdown or cyber attack.
An El Al flight from Tel Aviv to Toronto and a LOT Polish Airlines flight from Warsaw to Kyiv turned out of Ukraine's airspace around the time a notice was issued, according to flight tracking website FlightRadar24.
Russia also partially closed its airspace in the Rostov flight information region to the east of its border with Ukraine "in order to provide safety" for civil aviation flights, according to its notice to airmen.
War footing?
A total of 80% of the Russian soldiers assembled are in a position to launch a full-scale invasion on Ukraine, a senior U.S. defence official said.
Satellite imagery taken on Wednesday showed new deployments in western Russia, many of them within 10 miles (16 km) of the border with Ukraine and less than 50 miles from the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, U.S. satellite company Maxar said.
The images showed field deployment, military convoys, artillery and armoured personnel carriers with support equipment and troops. The images could not be independently verified by Reuters.
A 30-day state of emergency in Ukraine restricting the freedom of movement of conscripted reservists, curbing the media and imposing personal document checks, according to a draft text, begins on Thursday.
The Ukrainian government has also announced compulsory military service for all men of fighting age.
While the West has held off the most stringent sanctions measures it could impose, the United States stepped up the pressure by imposing penalties on the firm building the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline and its corporate officers.
Germany on Tuesday froze approvals for the pipeline, which has been built but was not yet in operation, amid concerns it could allow Moscow to weaponize energy supplies to Europe.
While both sides have said they are still open to diplomacy to resolve the crisis, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said earlier Moscow had approved an offensive and not replied to an invitation for talks.
"Today I initiated a telephone conversation with the President of the Russian Federation. The result was silence," he said.
Ukrainian government websites, which have experienced outages in recent weeks blamed by Kyiv on cyber attacks, were again offline on Wednesday. Ukraine's parliament, cabinet and foreign ministry websites were affected.
(With inputs from AP via PTI and Reuters.)
