PHNOM PENH: The 2022 ASEAN Chair, Prime Minister Hun Sen, has called for dialogue and a peaceful solution to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, after Russia launched a large-scale attack on Ukraine on Thursday.

Speaking at a press conference following a meeting with the Prime Minister of Malaysia on Thursday, Prime Minister Hun Sen said that he and Malaysian Prime Minister Dato' Sri Ismail Sabri bin Yaakob had privately discussed the situation in Ukraine, and affirmed that Cambodia wants to see a peaceful solution to the crisis.

He said, "The Prime Minister of Malaysia and I have quietly discussed the Russia-Ukraine crisis, and I have agreed to call for dialogue and a peaceful solution.”

Just before dawn on Thursday, Russia fired several missiles at various Ukrainian cities and deployed troops off the southern coast of Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday morning that he had decided to carry out a special military operation in the Donbas region backed by Ukrainian separatists. However, he reiterated that Russia had no plans to occupy Ukraine.

According to ongoing reports, Russia has so far destroyed all of Ukraine's air defenses and seized an air base just 30 kilometers from the capital.