"President Putin, in the name of humanity, bring your troops back to Russia": UN Secretary-General

As Russia has launched military operations against eastern Ukraine, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has pleaded to President Vladimir Putin to recall his troops in the name of humanity.

His last-minute plea, though, hasn’t got any response from the Russian President.

Guterres held an emergency meeting of the members of the Security Council on the Ukraine crisis and soon after that made a humble request to the Russian President to avert war.

He pleaded, "President Putin, in the name of humanity, bring your troops back to Russia."

Guterres said that the war will have a devastating impact on Ukraine. It will also impact the global economy adversely.

“The consequences of a war would be devastating for Ukraine and far-reaching for the global economy,” Guterres added.

Earlier, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky had also pleaded to stop the war and said that the Russian people were misinformed about Ukraine.

Instead of paying any heed to Guterres' appeal and the plea of many other global leaders who also requested to avoid the war, Russia has gone ahead and has started its military operations.

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba took to Twitter and wrote, "Putin has just launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Peaceful Ukrainian cities are under strikes."

US President Joe Biden announced economic sanctions against Russia and said, “Who in the Lord's name does Putin think gives him the right to declare new so-called countries on territory that belongs to his neighbours?"