Servet Günerigok
23 February 2022•Update: 24 February 2022
WASHINGTON
The head of the UN warned Wednesday that an expanded Ukraine crisis might bring a "severity of needs unseen for many years."
Speaking at the UN General Assembly session on Ukraine, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in conflicts, civilians, including women and children, always suffer first and suffer most.
"If the conflict in Ukraine expands, the world could see a scale and severity of needs unseen for many years," said Guterres, pledging to back all efforts to resolve the crisis "without further bloodshed."
"It's time to establish a cease-fire and return to the passive dialogue and negotiations to save the people in Ukraine and beyond from the scourge of war," he added.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday announced that Moscow was recognizing Luhansk and Donetsk as "independent" states, followed quickly by sending Russian forces there to "maintain peace."
The announcements drew widespread global condemnation as violations of the UN Charter and international law, with Western countries announcing new sanctions on Russia.
In 2014, after invading Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, Moscow began to support separatist forces in eastern Ukraine against the central government, a policy that it has maintained for the past seven years. The conflict has taken more than 13,000 lives, according to the UN.
Putin's latest moves follow Russia amassing 100,000 troops and heavy equipment in and around its neighbor, with the US and Western countries accusing it of setting the stage for an invasion.
Russia has denied it is preparing an invasion and instead claims the West has undermined its security through NATO's expansion toward its borders.
