U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres admitted that he had been wrong to believe that “nothing serious would happen” and called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to embrace peace.
During an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council, Guterres said even as there were “rumors and indications” today that gave the impression that Russia was preparing to attack Ukraine, he was convinced of the opposite and called for Putin to “give peace a chance.”
“If indeed an operation is being prepared, I have only one thing to say from the bottom of my heart,” Guterres said. “President Putin, stop your troops from attacking Ukraine.”
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“The day was full of rumors and indications that an offensive against Ukraine was imminent,” Guterres said. “In the recent past, there were several situations with similar indications, similar rumors.”
Guterres said he had “never believed in them,” thinking that nothing serious would result from them. “I was wrong, and I would like not to be wrong again.”
VIDEO: ‘Stop your troops from attacking Ukraine’
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres makes a personal appeal to Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop his troops from entering Ukraine at an emergency Security Council meeting pic.twitter.com/LZQI2ilK1m
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) February 24, 2022
Secretary of State Antony Blinken admitted Wednesday evening when asked by NBC News’s Lester Holt that he believed a Russian invasion of Ukraine would happen before the night was over.
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you can hear explosions in Kyiv during this CNN live shot pic.twitter.com/biRTRLeFeA
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 24, 2022
Russian military forces began attacking Ukraine moments after Putin had announced a “special military operation” into the country.
Explosions were heard across Ukraine hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he had asked for peace from Putin, only to receive silence. Fox News foreign correspondent Trey Yingst and CNN both reported hearing explosions in the capital city of Kyiv shortly after receiving reports of explosions in the eastern part of the country.
The Russian ambassador to the United Nations, Vasily Alekseevich Nebenzya, defended Russia’s military operation during the same emergency council meeting.
“The root of today’s crisis around Ukraine is the actions of Ukraine itself, who for many years were sabotaging its obligations under the [Minsk agreement],” Nebenzya said. He also claimed the Russian military operation was aimed at protecting residents living in regions of Ukraine who support Moscow, CNN reported.
