UN urged Russian President Putin to stop his troops from attacking Ukraine.
António Guterres United Nation secretary general call for peace.
Give peace a chance, says UN Secretary-General as he urges Putin to call off forces amid Russia-Ukraine crisis
Russia-Ukraine news: United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to 'give peace a chance' and stop his troops from attacking Ukraine.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday asserted that Russia is preparing for a full-scale attack on Ukraine and urged President Vladimir Putin to stop his troops.
“Indeed, an operation is being prepared [by Russia]. President Vladimir Putin, stop your troops from attacking Ukraine. Give peace a chance,” Guterres said.
"President Putin, stop your troops from attacking Ukraine, give peace a chance, too many people have already died," Guterres said during the second emergency Security Council meeting in three days over the Russia-Ukraine crisis.
As world leaders one after another urged Russia to stand down, Putin made a surprise speech on Russian TV, announcing he had "made the decision of a military operation."
Warnings of a possible Russian invasion had mounted over weeks, as Moscow massed troops on Ukraine's borders and earlier this week recognized the independence of two breakaway eastern Ukraine regions.
Putin's announcement came after the Kremlin said rebel leaders in eastern Ukraine had asked Moscow for military help against Kyiv.
Speaking after Guterres, UN Under-Secretary for Political Affairs, Rosemary DiCarlo, said Wednesday there were reports of "large-scale military buildup and military columns moving towards Ukraine" and that Russia had "shut airspace" to civilian aircraft along the border between the two countries.
The US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield made a similar appeal to the Russian president.
"Send your troops and your tanks and your planes back to their barracks and hangars and send your diplomats to the negotiating table," she said.