Stop this war ‘in the name of humanity’, says UN Secretary-General to Putin

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres made a last-minute appeal on Wednesday to Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop the war “in the name of humanity” after the Russian 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 on Ukraine.

The consequences of a war would be devastating for Ukraine and far-reaching for the global economy, he added.

In a speech early on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation” in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, controlled by pro-Russian separatists, which he declared independent this week.

“Confrontations between Ukrainian and Russian forces are inevitable, it’s just a matter of time,” declared the Russian leader. “Circumstances demand decisive action from Russia. We cannot tolerate threats from Ukraine.”

The reporting teams CNN in Ukraine’s two largest cities, the capital Kiev and Kharkiv, reported they were hearing “large explosions” throughout the early hours of Thursday in Ukraine.

(*Reporting by Michelle Nichols and Humeyra Pamuk of Reuters, with information from CNN)

Source: CNN Brasil

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