Putin orders military operations in Ukraine

BREAKING: War Starts? Putin orders military operations in Ukraine demands Kyiv forces surrender. 

KYIV: Russian president Vladimir Putin authorized a military operation in the eastern part of Ukraine on Thursday. It seemed to be the beginning of the conflict in Europe due to Russian demands to end NATO’s expansion to the east.

Just after Putin delivered a broadcast through Russian state TV, there were explosions heard in the quiet before the dawn of Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital city of Kyiv. 

Gunfire erupted near Kyiv’s principal airport, the Interfax news agency reported.

The breakaway east Ukrainian city Donetsk and civilian aircraft were warned to stay clear of the area in the wake of the United States said a major attack by Russia on its neighbor was on the way.

Putin claimed he had authorized the military to conduct a special operation in areas a part of the breakaway region of Ukraine’s eastern region. 

Ukraine and that fighting with Russian and Ukrainian forces were just an issue of time.

Just hours before, pro-Russian separatists sent a message to Moscow for assistance to stop the alleged Ukrainian aggression, which they dismissed as Russian propaganda. The United States dismissed it as Russian propaganda.

Putin declared that he had directed Russian forces to defend the population and demanded Ukrainian troops lay down their weapons.

“All the blame for bloodshed rests at the feet of the administration within Ukraine,” Putin said.

He reiterated his belief in which NATO extension to incorporate Ukraine is not acceptable and added that Russia was left with no other choice than to defend itself from threats he claimed to be that originated from Ukraine.

The extent and scope of Russian military operations are not clear at the moment. 

However, Moscow has always denied its plans to invade despite having hundreds of thousands of its troops in the vicinity of its neighbor.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced that Moscow had sanctioned an offensive but not responded to an offer to discuss the issue.

“Today, I started a phone call with President Russian Federation. But, unfortunately, it ended in silence,” he stated.

US President Joe Biden expressed his gratitude to the Ukrainian people in Ukraine “as they endure an unprovoked, unjustified attack from Russian militarists.”

“President Putin has chosen a planned war that will cause an unimaginable loss of life and suffering. Russia alone is the sole responsible party for the destruction and death this attack will likely cause. It is expected that the United States and its Allies and partners will react in a united and uncompromising manner. The world will take action to hold Russia to account.”

He also said he’d announce additional sanctions against Russia the following day, on top of financial measures that were imposed this week.

The Russian operations started when it was reported that the UN Security Council held an emergency meeting regarding concerns over the Ukraine conflict on the streets of New York.

A proposed resolution to scold Moscow for its conduct towards its neighbor is likely to fail because of Russia’s veto power. 

Still, a Security Council diplomat said it could place Russia in the spotlight that it’s “not in conformity to international laws.”

Ukraine prohibited civilian flights in its airspace because of “potential danger” the day after a monitor for the conflict zone advised airlines to stop flying flights over fears of an unintentional shooting down or cyberattack.

The El Al flight from Tel Aviv to Toronto and the LOT Polish Airlines flight from Warsaw to Kyiv left Ukraine’s airspace just before the notice was published by Flight tracking website FlightRadar24.

Russia has also closed its airspace within its Rostov flight information zone in the region to the east of the border it shares with Ukraine “to ensure security” for flights in civil aviation, according to the notice to airmen.

According to a Reuters source, convoys of military gear, including nine tanks, were observed moving toward Donetsk earlier in the day on Wednesday, from towards the Russian border.

The violence had increased since Monday when Putin recognized two regions of separatism as being independent and directed the deployment of what he described as peacekeepers. 

This is a move that the West considers to be the beginning of an insurgency.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has spoken separately with colleagues who hail from Britain, Canada, and Canada. 

At the same time, G7 leaders are also scheduled to meet on Thursday.

Satellite images taken on Wednesday showed new installations in the western part of Russia, most of which are 10 miles (16 kilometers) away from Ukraine’s border Ukraine and just 50 miles from Kharkiv, the Ukrainian Kharkiv city. 

Kharkiv, US satellite company Maxar announced.

The photos included field deployments, artillery, military convoys, and armored personnel transporters with equipment, troops, and soldiers. Reuters did not independently verify the images.

A state of emergency lasting 30 days in Ukraine restricts conscripted reservists’ mobility. 

It also restricts journalists’ freedoms and imposes individual documents checkpoints, according to the draft text released on Thursday.

The Ukrainian government also announced mandatory military service for all males of combat age.

Western countries and Japan have imposed sanctions on Russian individuals and banks. However, they have stayed off the most severe sanctions until the outbreak of war.

On Wednesday, the United States stepped up the pressure, imposing sanctions on the Russian company that built Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline and its corporate officers.

Germany has on Tuesday suspended permits for the pipe that was constructed but was not yet put into operation due to concerns that it might allow Moscow to weaponize energy supply to Europe.