In the middle of the UN Security Council, while Secretary General Antonio Guterres addressed Vladimir Putin directly to urge him "not to attack Ukraine", the Russian President took the floor in a surprise speech to dawn to announce a military operation to defend the separatists in the east of the country, despite the international outcry and the sanctions imposed in recent hours by the West.
You can follow the situation minute by minute this Thursday in our live.
What did Vladimir Putin say?
"I have decided on a special military operation," Vladimir Putin announced at dawn in a surprise statement on television, without specifying whether this intervention would be limited to eastern Ukraine or whether it would be larger.
"We will strive to achieve demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine," said the Kremlin master, seated at a dark wooden desk, promising to bring "to court those who have committed numerous crimes, responsible for bloodshed of civilians, especially Russian citizens”.
"We do not have in our plans an occupation of Ukrainian territories, we do not intend to impose anything by force on anyone", he assured, calling on the Ukrainian soldiers "to lay down their arms".
Then he addressed those “who would try to interfere with us”: “They must know that Russia's response will be immediate and will lead to consequences you have never experienced before”.
Ukraine: Russian President Vladimir Putin threatens those who oppose the conflict with "consequences you have never experienced before" pic.twitter.com/W2EFNtt9ea
– BFMTV (@BFMTV) February 24, 2022
A few hours earlier, the Kremlin had announced that the leaders of the self-proclaimed pro-Russian separatist "republics" in eastern Ukraine had asked for Vladimir Putin's "help" to "repel Ukrainian aggression".
On Monday, the Russian president had recognized the independence of these separatist “republics” of Donetsk and Lugansk, then obtained the next day from the upper house of the Russian Parliament the green light for a deployment of forces.
Read alsoCrisis in Ukraine: five minutes to understand why Putin recognized the separatist Donbass
After this announcement, the Russian ambassador to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, affirmed that his country was targeting “the ruling junta in Kiev”.
“We are not aggressive towards the Ukrainian people, but towards the ruling junta in Kiev,” he said in conclusion to his remarks before the United Nations Security Council.
What's going on in the field?
Anti-bombing warning sirens sounded Thursday morning in the center of Kiev, the capital of Ukraine.
Powerful explosions were heard in the capital, as well as in Odessa, a southern city on the shores of the Black Sea, in Kharkiv near the Russian border and in eastern Ukraine.
The Russian military claimed to target military sites in Ukraine with "high precision weapons", Russian news agencies reported.
"Military infrastructure, air defense facilities, military airfields and aviation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are rendered harmless with high-precision weapons," the Russian Defense Ministry said, as quoted by TASS. .
According to the head of Ukrainian diplomacy, it is a "large-scale invasion" which aims to "destroy the Ukrainian state, seize its territory by force and establish an occupation", estimated in a communicated the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Kyiv also called on the international community to "act immediately".
"Only united and strong actions can stop the aggression of Ukraine by Vladimir Putin", adds this text.
Ukrainian border guards say the country is under attack along the Russian and Belarusian borders.
President Volodymyr Zelensky called on his fellow citizens not to panic in the face of the Russian offensive which is hitting their country, also announcing the introduction of martial law.
"Don't panic, we are ready for anything, we will overcome," he said in a video message on Facebook.
What are the reactions?
US President Joe Biden denounced around 4:30 a.m. Russia's "unjustified attack" on Ukraine, imagining "catastrophic human suffering and loss".
He will speak at greater length this Thursday during the day on "the consequences" of such an attack.
Russia's 'war' in Ukraine that 'makes no sense' 'must stop now', UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres pleaded after emergency Security Council meeting .
“President Putin, in the name of humanity, bring your troops back to Russia!
“Launched the head of the UN, visibly tested by the announcement of this operation by the Russian president.
"In the name of humanity, let us not allow the outbreak in Europe of what could be the worst war since the beginning of the century", insisted Antonio Guterres, evoking "the saddest moment of (his) mandate as Secretary General United Nations ".
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has called the Russian military operation launched in Ukraine a "flagrant violation" of international law, speaking of a "dark day" for the whole of Europe.
"Germany condemns in the strongest possible terms this unscrupulous act by President (Vladimir) Putin, our solidarity goes out to Ukraine and its people," he added in a statement.