Russia announces 'military operation' to 'demilitarize' Ukraine

Kyiv, Feb 24: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday announced a military operation in Ukraine, claiming it's intended to protect civilians. Delivering an emergency address, Putin said the operation has been launched to demilitarize the country.

In a televised address, Putin said the action comes in response to threats coming from Ukraine. He added that Russia doesn't have a goal to occupy Ukraine. Putin said the responsibility for bloodshed lies with the Ukrainian "regime".

This comes hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine has not posed and will not pose a threat to Russia. In an emotional appeal delivered largely in Russian, Zelenskyy said "You are being told that Ukraine can pose a threat to Russia.

"It was not like this in the past, it is not like this now and it will not be so in the future. You demand security guarantees from NATO. We also demand guarantees of our security - from you, from Russia, and other guarantors of the Budapest memorandum," Zelenskyy said in a video address. Ukrainian President also refuted Moscow's claims that his country poses a threat to Russia and warned that a Russian invasion would cost tens of thousands of lives.

Putin warned other countries that any attempt to interfere with the Russian action would lead to "consequences they have never seen". He accused the US and its allies of ignoring Russia's demand to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO and offer Moscow security guarantees.

He said the Russian military operation aims to ensure a "demilitarisation" of Ukraine. Putin said that all Ukrainian servicemen who lay down arms will be able to safely leave the zone of combat. There was no immediate reaction from the White House to Putin's remarks, but US officials have repeatedly pledged to place overwhelming sanctions on the Russian economy and Putin allies in retaliation for a further invasion of Ukraine.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian parliament, Verkhovna Rada, approved declaring a state of emergency in the whole country except for Donetsk and Luhansk regions amid the escalating situation at the country's borders. (AP)