If the West interferes in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the consequences would be “like you have never before experienced in your history,” said Russian president Vladimir Putin on Thursday.
In the middle of “special military operation” in Ukraine, Putin urged the Ukrainian soldiers to lay down arms. He said those who followed his advice would be allowed to leave the battle zone and return to their families.
Putin explained the purpose of “special military action” to “defend people who for eight years are suffering persecution and genocide by the Kyiv regime. For this, we will aim for demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine.” Notably, he said Russia does not have any plans to “occupy Ukrainian territory”.
The Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he tried calling the Russian President, but his call went unanswered. “Today, I initiated a phone call with the President of the Russian federation. The result was silence. Though the silence should be in Donbas.”
He said he was addressing not as the President but as a citizen of Ukraine. “More than 2,000 km of the common border is dividing us. Along this border, your troops are stationed, almost 200,000 soldiers, thousands of military vehicles. Your leaders approved them to make a step forward to the territory of another country. And this step can be the beginning of a big war on the European continent.”
He said Ukraine would defend itself if the troops tried to take away the country. “If they try to take our country away from us, our freedom, our lives, the lives of our children, we will defend ourselves. Not attack, but defend ourselves. And when you are attacking us, you will see our faces, not our backs, but our faces.” He added people would lose not only money, reputation, and freedom but also loved ones and themselves. He further urged the people of Russia to convince their President, not to initiate an invasion.
