INTERNATIONAL: Russia's order to deploy 'peacekeepers' in eastern Ukraine is 'nonsense', U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield has said on Monday,February 21, adding that Moscow's recognition of the breakaway eastern regions were part of its attempt to create a pretext for a further invasion of Ukraine.
Speaking at an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting on Ukraine, Greenfield has said the consequences of Russia's actions will be dire across Ukraine, Europe and worldwide and that the humanitarian toll will expand significantly if Moscow invaded further.
U.N. political affairs chief Rosemary DiCarlo has told the Security Council that the United Nations regretted Russia's order to deploy troops into eastern Ukraine on a reported "peacekeeping mission."
Tensions between Moscow and Western capitals have escalated following weeks of United States accusations that Russia has deployed up to 150,000 troops near Ukraine's borders for an invasion. Russia has denied it wants to invade Ukraine and accuses the West of hysteria.
The U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. ,Linda Thomas-Greenfield says; "Russia's clear attack on Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity is unprovoked. It is an attack on Ukraine's status as a U.N. member state. It violates a basic principle of international law and it defies our charter. What is more, this move by President Putin is clearly the basis for Russia's attempt to create a pretext for a further invasion of Ukraine. The consequences of this action will be felt far beyond Ukraine's borders."
The U.N. Political Affairs Chief, Rosemary Dicarlo has said that the secretary general considers the decision of the Russian Federation to recognize the independence of certain areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions to be a violation of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine and inconsistent with the principles of the Charter of the United Nations. And that the United Nations very much regret this decision, which risks having regional and global repercussions.
