The president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, announced on the night of Wednesday, February 23 in Colombia and on the morning of February 24 in Russia, a televised speech the start of a military operation in Ukraine.
“I have made the decision for a military operation,” Putin declared in an unexpected message in which he called on the Ukrainian military to “lay down their arms.”
Later, in a television broadcast a few minutes ago, he announced that there will be retaliation for those who interfere with the Russian operation in Ukraine.
“Anyone who considers interfering from the outside, if he does so, he will face consequences greater than any he has ever faced in history,” the Russian president said, according to the Daily Mail.
Given this, the Ukrainian ambassador to the UN, Sergiy Kyslytsya declared that Russia must “stop the war”, within the framework of the United Nations Security Council in an emergency meeting on Ukraine.
“It’s not a war, it’s a military operation,” said his Russian counterpart Vassily Nebenzia on his part, responding to his Ukrainian counterpart.
Tensions between Russia and Ukraine have a history dating back to the Middle Ages. Both countries have common roots in the East Slavic state of Kievan Rus’. For this reason, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, always speaks of “one people”.
In reality, the destinies of both nations were separated for centuries, two languages and cultures emerged. While Russia became an empire politically, Ukraine failed to establish its own state. In the 17th century, large areas of present-day Ukraine became part of the Russian Empire. After its collapse in 1917, Ukraine became independent for a short time, until Soviet Russia reconquered the country.