JAKARTA - The Secretary General of the Peace of the Nations (UN) asked the President of Russia to stop the war, in order to avoid destruction and a huge impact on the global economy.
Russian President Vladimir Putin allowed limited military operations in eastern Ukraine, prompting the West to react with President Joe Biden calling Moscow responsible.
The UN secretary general made a last-minute plea on Wednesday to Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war "in the name of humanity", after Russia's leader announced a military operation in eastern Ukraine.
"President Putin, in the name of humanity, bring your troops back to Russia," Guterres said, speaking after an emergency Security Council meeting in Ukraine.
The consequences of war will be devastating for Ukraine and far-reaching for the global economy, he added.
Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized special military operations in the Donbass region of Eastern Ukraine in the early hours of Thursday morning and told the Ukrainian military to lay down its weapons and go home.
In a special televised address on Russian state TV, President Putin said Russia had no choice but to defend itself against what he said were threats emanating from modern Ukraine.
The Russian leader said Moscow had no choice but to launch the operation, the scope of which was not immediately clear.
"I have decided to carry out a special military operation," said President Putin.
"The aim is to protect people who have been subjected to intimidation and genocide over the past eight years. And for this we will fight for the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine."
"And to bring to justice those who committed many bloody crimes against civilians, including against citizens of the Russian Federation," said President Putin.
The United States and its allies will respond in a unified and decisive manner to the unprovoked and unjustified attack by Russian military forces in Ukraine, US President Joe Biden said after explosions were heard in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.
"President (Vladimir) Putin has chosen a premeditated war that will cost lives and human suffering," Biden said in a statement issued late Wednesday.
"Russia alone is responsible for the death and destruction that this attack will cause. The world will hold Russia accountable," he stressed.
President Biden said he would announce on Thursday further measures to be imposed on Russia by the United States and its allies. The White House said President Biden would speak in the afternoon.
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