Russia-Ukraine: What to know as Putin takes military action
LA TimesRussian President Vladimir Putin has announced a military operation in Ukraine, and he is warning other countries that any attempt to interfere with the Russian action would lead to “consequences they have never seen.” U.S. President Biden says the world will “hold Russia accountable.” The Ukrainian president earlier rejected Moscow’s claims that his country poses a threat to Russia and made a passionate plea for peace. The U.N. Security Council held another emergency meeting on Ukraine on Wednesday night, just two days after another emergency session saw no support for Russia’s decision to recognize the two rebel regions of Ukraine as independent and to order Russian troops there for “peacekeeping.” “If indeed an operation is being prepared, I have only one thing to say from the bottom of my heart: President Putin, stop your troops from attacking Ukraine. “This is the toughest sanctions regime we’ve ever put in place against Russia,” British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said of measures that target key banks that fund the Russian military and oligarchs. A statement from the Turkish president’s office said Erdogan told Putin that Turkey does not approve of actions that undermine Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and described Ankara’s position as “a principled stance.”