Ukrainian border guards stand at a checkpoint from territory controlled by Russia-backed separatists to the territory controlled by Ukrainian forces in Novotroitske, eastern Ukraine, Monday, Feb. 21, 2022.
Highlights
- US said Putin's decision is an unprovoked attack on Ukraine's sovereignty & territorial integrity
- By his actions, the US said, Vladimir Putin 'has torn the Minsk Agreement to shreds'
The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations has dismissed 'as nonsense' Russian President Vladimir Putin's announcement that he is putting Russian troops in separatist areas of eastern Ukraine as peacekeepers, saying their presence is "clearly the basis for Russia's attempt to create a pretext for a further invasion of Ukraine."
Linda Thomas-Greenfield told an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Monday night that this move and Putin's earlier announcement that Russia will recognize the separatist areas as 'independent states' are also an 'unprovoked' attack on Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. By his actions, she said, Putin "has torn the Minsk Agreement to shreds."
Thomas-Greenfield said Putin 'has put before the world a choice' and it 'must not look away' because 'history tells us that looking the other way in the face of such hostility will be a far more costly path.'
She said Putin is testing to see "how far he can push us all," and all countries must stand up for the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all countries.
Thomas-Greenfield warned that "the consequences of Russia's actions will be dire across Ukraine, across Europe, and across the globe."
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