Sirens blared in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv on Thursday morning as Russian President Vladimir Putin formally declared war on Ukraine.
As the council was in session, news came through that Russia had begun a predicted military campaign in Ukraine that the UN meeting had hoped to ward off.
Around 9:30pm on Wednesday, local time, United Nation Secretary-General Antonio Guterres addressed an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to deplore Russia’s actions towards Ukraine and to plead for diplomacy.
Having finally accepted that a military invasion was likely, Guterres begged Russian President Vladimir Putin not to attack Ukraine, noting that “too many people have already died”.
“It’s too late, my dear colleagues, to speak about de-escalation,” Ukraine’s envoy Sergiy Kyslytsya told the council. “I call on every one of you to do everything possible to stop the war.”
All flights leaving Ukraine have been now cancelled. Ukraine officials have advised civilians to seek shelter in their basements amid fears of rocket attacks across the country.
Queues were seen outside cash machines in cities across Ukraine and lines of traffic clogged Kyiv’s motorways as Ukrainians scrambled for safety.
Ukrainian military officials said cruise missiles have been launched in attacks on Kyiv’s airport and that tanks were seen crossing Ukraine’s northern border with Belarus.
In a speech to the Russian nation on Thursday morning, President Putin announced his intention to “demilitarise and de-Nazify” his former Soviet neighbour, led by Jewish President Volodymyr Zelensky.
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