President Russia Vladimir Putin announcing orders for military operations in the Donbas region located in the east Ukraine on Thursday (24/2).
The order, which could be the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, was announced by Putin in a speech on state television on Thursday morning at around 06.00 local time.
“I have made the decision to deploy a military operation (to eastern Ukraine),” Putin said in the short, surprising speech, as quoted by AFP.
Putin stressed that Russia could not tolerate Ukraine’s threats and warned of foreign intervention in this conflict. He even warned the Ukrainian troops in and around Donbas to withdraw or face severe consequences.
Donbas or Donbass is a region in eastern Ukraine that houses Donetsk and Luhansk. The region has long been controlled by pro-Russian separatists.
Donbas has been a hot spot for a bloody conflict between Ukrainian troops and separatist groups since Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea.
(isa/rds)
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