'I condemn this unprovoked and unjustified attack': Joe Biden on Ukraine-Russia war

US President Joe Biden on Thursday condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to launch military operations in Ukraine and called it “unprovoked and unjustified”.

"President Zelenskyy reached out to me tonight and we just finished speaking. I condemned this unprovoked and unjustified attack by Russian military forces. I briefed him on the steps we are taking to rally international condemnation, including tonight at the UN Security Council," Joe Biden said.

"He asked me to call on the leaders of the world to speak out clearly against President Putin’s flagrant aggression, and to stand with the people of Ukraine," he added.

Saying that he will be meeting his G7 counterparts to announce further sanction on Russia, Biden said: "Tomorrow, I will be meeting with the Leaders of the G7, and the United States and our Allies and partners will be imposing severe sanctions on Russia. We will continue to provide support and assistance to Ukraine and the Ukrainian people."

US President Joe Biden said that the premeditated war will bring a catastrophic loss of life.

"The prayers of the entire world are with the people of Ukraine tonight as they suffer an unprovoked and unjustified attack by Russian military forces. President Putin has chosen a premeditated war that will bring a catastrophic loss of life and human suffering," Biden said in a White House statement.

Asserting that the US and its allies and partners will respond in a united and decisive way, Biden said that Russia alone is responsible for the death and destruction this attack will bring.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, announced the country's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Thursday and added that Ukrainian cities are under strikes.

"Putin has just launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Peaceful Ukrainian cities are under strikes. This is a war of aggression. Ukraine will defend itself and will win. The world can and must stop Putin. The time to act is now," Kuleba tweeted.

This tweet comes less than an hour after Putin announced a special "military operation" to protect Donbas in eastern Ukraine.

United Nations chief Antonio Guterres asked the Russian President to stop "attacking Ukraine" and give peace a chance, Speaking at an emergency UN Security Council meeting on Wednesday night, the UN chief said, "The day was full of rumours and indications of an offensive against Ukraine was imminent." "I was wrong. And I would like not to be wrong again today," he added.

(With inputs from Agencies)

Published on: Thursday, February 24, 2022, 11:01 AM IST