President Joe Biden condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin for announcing a “special military operation” within Ukraine, with his speech quickly followed by reports of explosions in the capital of Kyiv.
Biden described Putin’s decision as “a premeditated war that will bring a catastrophic loss of life and human suffering.”
RUSSIA CHALLENGES BIDEN’S DEMOCRACY VS. AUTOCRACY TALK
Just-released statement from Biden on Ukraine: pic.twitter.com/n06mTFRHSj
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“The prayers of the entire world are with the people of Ukraine tonight as they suffer an unprovoked and unjustified attack by Russian military forces,” Biden said Wednesday.
Biden vowed that the United States, its allies, and its partners will respond “in a united and decisive way,” adamant that “Russia alone is responsible for the death and destruction” wrought by the offensive.
“The world will hold Russia accountable,” he said.
Biden is expected to monitor the situation from the White House before meeting with G-7 counterparts and addressing the nation Thursday, his statement said. Biden’s afternoon remarks are anticipated to foreshadow additional actions against Russia after the president rolled out his “first tranche” of sanctions this week.
“Tonight, Jill and I are praying for the brave and proud people of Ukraine,” he said.
In a second statement, Biden detailed a phone call he had with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Biden said Zelensky had “reached out” to him.
“I briefed him on the steps we are taking to rally international condemnation,” he said. “He asked me to call on the leaders of the world to speak out clearly against President Putin’s flagrant aggression and to stand with the people of Ukraine.”
The assault coincided with an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting presided over by Russia. There, Russian Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya reiterated Putin’s desire “to demilitarize and de-genocide Ukraine.”
“For you, those living in Donbas are simply pawns in a geopolitical game focused on weakening Russia,” he said.
“Forty-eight minutes ago,” Ukrainian Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya responded, “your country declared a war against my country.”
“There is no purgatory for war criminals,” he added. “They go straight to hell.”
Ukrainian Interior Ministry adviser Anton Gerashchenko told reporters that the Kyiv explosions were missile strikes as Russian troops cross the Ukraine border near Kharkiv and other personnel land in Odessa.
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In a televised appearance Wednesday, Putin said the special military operation’s aim is to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine but not occupy it. Days earlier, he recognized two Russia-backed separatist regions in Ukraine, Donetsk and Luhansk.
