Why the world reacted so suddenly to the Russo-Ukrainian war
Why the world reacted so suddenly to the Russo-Ukrainian war
why the international stage reacted so abruptly and quite quickly to Russia's invasion of Ukraine
The urgent meeting of the United Nations Security Council was intended as a last-ditch effort to persuade Russia not to send soldiers into Ukraine. But, even as it was being delivered, the message became irrelevant. Any attempt to interfere with the Russian operation, Putin said, would result in "consequences they have never seen." The council met Wednesday night hours after Russia reported rebels in eastern Ukraine had requested military support. Russia now has the rotating leadership of the council this month. About a half-hour later, fears that Russia was building the framework for conflict came true.
"It's too late to talk about de-escalation, my dear friends," Ukrainian Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya told the council. "I implore everyone of you to do all in your power to bring this conflict to an end." In a rare impromptu discussion in the council chamber, Kyslytsya challenged his Russian colleague to state that his nation was not bombing, shelling, or deploying soldiers into Ukraine at the time. "You've got a smartphone, right? You can make a call to "officials in Moscow, according to Kyslytsya. Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said, "I have already told everything I know at this moment." He went on to say that he had no plans to wake up Russia's foreign minister, and that what was going on was a "special military operation," not a war.
Outside the conference, Kyslytsya rejected the description as "lunatic sematics." Members of the council found themselves giving prepared comments that were suddenly obsolete at the council's second emergency meeting on Ukraine this week. Some others eventually responded with a second wave of hurriedly added comments. "Putin gave a message of war, in blatant disrespect for the duty of this council, at the very time we are convened in the council seeking peace," U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said.
She also stated that the council will get a draft resolution on Thursday. According to a European diplomat who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the discussions were private, the resolution would declare that Russia is violating the United Nations Charter, international law, and a 2015 council resolution on Ukraine. According to the diplomat, the resolution would compel Russia to quickly return to compliance. Diplomats from dozens of nations spoke out at the United Nations General Assembly earlier Wednesday to condemn Russia's activities in Ukraine and call for dialogue, while Russia and its ally Syria defended Moscow's actions.
Nebenzia depicted his government as responding to the situation of afflicted people in the breakaway zones, echoing a narrative being conveyed to Russians at home. Russia accuses Ukraine of persecution and bloodshed, which Ukraine rejects. "The acts of Ukraine itself are at the foundation of today's turmoil around Ukraine," he told the council on Wednesday. Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine's foreign minister, urged nations to deploy harsh economic penalties, forceful signals, and "active diplomacy" to persuade Russia to back down.
He cautioned that a poor reaction would risk not just Ukraine, but also international law and global security. The 193-member General Assembly met a day after Western powers and several other countries placed further sanctions on Russia, but took no collective action. However, the responses from almost 70 countries, with more on the way on Monday, marked the biggest expression of global outrage since the crisis erupted this week.
Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimea Peninsula in 2014, and pro-Russian separatists have been battling Ukrainian soldiers in Donetsk and Luhansk's eastern districts since then. The battle has claimed the lives of around 14,000 individuals. After weeks of escalating tensions as Moscow massed over 150,000 troops on Ukraine's borders, Putin acknowledged the two regions' independence on Monday and ordered Russian military to conduct "peacekeeping" operations there.
Guterres contested this, claiming that the forces were illegally invading another nation. As explosions erupted in Kyiv and other towns throughout Ukraine late Wednesday night, Guterres' call to "give peace a chance" had taken on a darker and more desperate tone. In remarks to reporters, the secretary-general added, "President Putin, in the sake of humanity, bring your soldiers back to Russia." "Do not allow, in the name of humanity, what may be the worst conflict since the turn of the century to commence in Europe."