As Russia attacks Ukraine, the President of Lithuania has issued a decree to declare a state of emergency in the Baltic nation.
Gitanas Nauseda, on Thursday, revealed what measures Vilnius would take to protect itself against any prospective aggression from Moscow. He said,
“Today, I have signed a decree introducing the state of emergency, which the parliament will pass in an extraordinary session.”
He also insisted, “We are talking about Lithuania’s external security, and we are obliged to do everything we can to guarantee it without the slightest doubts.”
Soon after, the leaders of breakaway republics called on Moscow for assistance to counter what they recognized as an uptick in “Ukrainian Aggression,” President Vladimir Putin announced that he had ordered his country’s military to carry out a special operation in the Donbas. The decree was announced promptly after the Russian President’s announcement.
Putin insisted that Russia had “no plan to occupy Ukrainian territory” but wanted to “demilitarize and de-nazify” the neighboring country. In next to no time after the address, the Eastern European nation witnessed a series of explosions, including airfields and military installations.
The blasts were heard around the capital, Kyiv, and other major cities. Dmitry Kuleba, Ukraine’s foreign minister, issued a statement in which he declared that “Moscow has just launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. And this is a war of aggression…the world can and must stop Putin. The time to act is now.”
Earlier this week, the Russian President signed the “immediate recognition” of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics’ independence. In 2014, following the event of Maidan, when the violent street protests toppled the elected government in Ukraine, the two territories broke off from Kyiv.
Western officials have been issuing the warning for months now that Moscow’s armed forces were assembling at the Ukrainian border in order to invade the country. Until recently, Russia had denied its plans to attack and insisted on defensive action in Donbas.
Today, after the military operation, Russia claimed to have destroyed Ukrainian air defenses and air bases. Putin has vowed retaliation against those who interfere in the Russia – Ukrainian operation.
US President Joe Biden said that the “world will hold Russia accountable over its attack on Ukraine that would cause catastrophic loss of life.”
Edited By : Mahi Gupta
Published By : K. Bindhiya Prarthana
