Putin says he wants to conduct “a special military operation” in the Ukrainian Donbas region that Moscow has recognized as independent, according to the Russian news agency Interfax. He calls on Ukrainian soldiers to “lay down their weapons” but also says they do not want to occupy Ukrainian territory.
In the speech, according to Interfax, Putin also says that “Russia will respond immediately in the event of foreign interference.” He also states that “bloodshed is at the expense of the Ukrainian regime.”
Putin’s speech began at exactly the same time that US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield called on Russia to withdraw.
