Putin pronounces a ‘army operation’ in Ukraine because the U.N. Safety Council pleads with him to tug again.

“Anybody who tries to intervene with us, or much more so, to create threats for our nation and our folks, should know that Russia’s response might be speedy and can lead you to such penalties as you’ve got by no means earlier than skilled in your historical past,” Mr. Putin stated. “We’re prepared for any flip of occasions.”

Mr. Putin solid his operation each as an assault on “Nazis” in Ukraine, in addition to rejection of the American-led world order. Ukraine’s aspiration to affix NATO, he stated, represented a dire menace to Russia. He evoked the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999 and the American invasion of Iraq in 2003 to make it clear that he considered the West as morally bankrupt.

“For 30 years, we intentionally and patiently tried to succeed in settlement with the NATO nations on equal and indivisible safety in Europe,” Mr. Putin stated. However Russia was met, he stated, with “cynical lies” and “blackmail” on the a part of the West.

The American-led West, he stated, represented an “empire of lies.”

In his assertion, President Biden sought to position accountability squarely on Mr. Putin’s shoulders.

“President Putin has chosen a premeditated struggle that can deliver a catastrophic lack of life and human struggling,” Mr. Biden stated. “Russia alone is chargeable for the loss of life and destruction this assault will deliver, and the USA and its allies and companions will reply in a united and decisive approach. The world will maintain Russia accountable.”

In his speech, Mr. Putin went on to deal with the Russian folks, arguing that they had been on the precise facet of historical past.

“You and I do know that our power lies in equity and reality, which is on our facet,” Mr. Putin stated. “And if that is so, then it’s onerous to not agree that it’s power and readiness to battle which can be the inspiration for independence and sovereignty.”

Michael D. Shear contributed reporting.