Russia's attack on Ukraine has thrown Europe back into a situation it thought the continent had long overcome, Belgium's prime minister Alexander De Croo said on Thursday.
"This is Europe's darkest hour since the Second World War," he said on Twitter. "This Russian aggression is unnecessary and unprovoked. Our hearts and minds are with the people of Ukraine."
Ukraine’s president has declared martial law and urged citizens not to panic as Russia launched military strikes on the country, while the country’s foreign minister called it a “full-scale invasion”.
European Union leaders will discuss a further sanctions package on Russia at an emergency meeting later on Thursday, the EU said in a statement, with the aim to impose "massive and severe consequences on Russia for its action."
British prime minister Boris Johnson said Russian president Vladimir Putin has “chosen a path of bloodshed and destruction” with his attack on Ukraine and that the UK and its allies would respond “decisively”.
I am appalled by the horrific events in Ukraine and I have spoken to President Zelenskyy to discuss next steps.
President Putin has chosen a path of bloodshed and destruction by launching this unprovoked attack on Ukraine.
The UK and our allies will respond decisively.Advertisement— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) February 24, 2022
In a statement on Twitter, Mr Johnson said he had spoken with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss “next steps”.
US president Joe Biden denounced Russia’s “unprovoked and unjustified attack”, declaring “the world will hold Russia accountable”.
Mr Biden said in a statement: “The prayers of the entire world are with the people of Ukraine tonight as they suffer an unprovoked and unjustified attack by Russian military forces.
“President Putin has chosen a premeditated war that will bring a catastrophic loss of life and human suffering. Russia alone is responsible for the death and destruction this attack will bring, and the United States and its Allies and partners will respond in a united and decisive way. The world will hold Russia accountable.”
US senator Mark Warner, chairman of the Sentate Intelligence Committee in Washington, said the Russian move "has tragically brought decades of general peace to an end" in Europe.
"For more than 70 years, we have avoided large-scale war in Europe. With his illegal invasion of Ukraine, Vladimir Putin has tragically brought decades of general peace to an end. Now the US and our Nato allies must stand united and resolute against Putin's efforts to renew the Russian empire at the expense of the Ukrainian people."
Independent political analyst in Beijing Wu Qiang said that "this is a very unfavourable situation that an unprepared China has been pulled into by Russia."
"It is possible that China may lose its existing relationship with Europe, a friendly relationship, and that China and the United States may soon fall into a confrontation because of a quasi-alliance between China and Russia. And so far, China has not shown a great willingness to stop the war."
Putin's address
Mr Putin said Russia does not have a goal to occupy Ukraine, but the responsibility for bloodshed lies with the Ukrainian “regime”.
He also warned other countries that any attempt to interfere with the Russian action would lead to “consequences they have never seen”.
Mr Putin accused the US and its allies of ignoring Russia’s demand to prevent Ukraine from joining Nato and offer Moscow security guarantees.
Mr Putin’s announcement came just after airspace over all of Ukraine was shut down to civilian air traffic, and at the same time as an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council was taking place.
Shortly after Mr Putin spoke in a televised address on Russian state TV, explosions could be heard in the pre-dawn quiet of the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. Gunfire rattled near the capital's main airport, the Interfax news agency said.
On Wednesday night, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made an emotional televised address in Russian following the approval of a 30-day state-of-emergency order, which handed the government sweeping powers in the interest of national security.
“The people of Ukraine and the government of Ukraine want peace. But if we come under attack that threatens our freedom and lives of our people we will fight back,” he said, as he rejected Moscow’s claim Ukraine is a threat to Russia.
