Ukraine woke up to a full-scale Russian invasion in the early hours of 24th February. Citizens of Ukraine woke up to the sound of air raid sirens signaling the start of the Russia’s invasion. Missiles were shot in the eastern, northern, and southern regions of Ukraine.
Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted the urgency of the world’s need to act immediately, saying that the future of the world and Europe was on the line.
He gave the world’s leaders a to-do list to take action on: to isolate Russia fully, put crippling sanctions on the country, and provide Ukraine with financial, humanitarian, and weapons assistance.
Kuleba assured Ukrainians around the globe that even though Russia had attacked, Ukraine would fight and defend itself and win. He asked the Ukrainians around the world to call their governments to act immediately.
While this is an evolving situation at the time of writing this article, missiles were dropped on the capital city of Ukraine, Kyiv. Explosions were heard in the cities of Lviv and Odesa. Key Ukrainian airports were bombed. An ammunition depot in Kyiv was on fire. Ukraine claimed that it shot down 5 Russian planes.
Ukraine’s foreign ministry has called this ‘an act of war.’ Oleg Nikolenko, a spokesperson for the ministry, declared the Russia invasion an attack on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine in a statement posted on Facebook. He called it a gross violation of the UN Statute and the fundamental norms and principles of international law.
Nikolenko informed that Russian troops have carried out strikes on peaceful cities of Ukraine in an offensive attempt to “destroy the state of Ukraine, seize Ukrainian territory by force, and establish occupation control.”
H stated Ukraine’s intention to claim self-defense as according to international law, adding the Ukrainian military was ready to repel Russia and defend the land of Ukraine with their full capability.
Nikolenko urged the international community to “act immediately,” requested more sanctions to be applied against Russia, and urged the international community to send military assistance to support Ukraine’s defense capabilities.
The statement added, “Lives and security not only of the Ukrainian citizens but also on the security of the citizens of Europe and the future of the world order depend on our united response.”
The Russian defense ministry said it had destroyed air bases air defenses in Ukraine with precision weapons. “Military infrastructure at Ukrainian army air bases has been rendered out of action,” it said in a statement carried by news agencies, which added that Kyiv’s air defense systems were “eliminated,” Ukraine said this statement was false.
Russia, in the last month, had surrounded Ukraine from three sides and today launched a full scale on Ukraine.
Published By: Jaspreet Singh
Edited By: Kritika Kashyap
