UK, allies will respond to Russia decisively for its actions

The UK and its allies will respond decisively to Russia's "unprovoked" attack on Ukraine, said Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday.

Taking to his Twitter handle, Johnson said that he is appalled by the horrific events in Ukraine and has spoken to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss the 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," he stated.

This tweet comes soon after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special "military operation to protect Donbas" in eastern Ukraine.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian ambassador to the United Nations has appealed to its members to "stop the war" at an emergency meeting of the Security Council.

"It is the responsibility of this body to stop the war. So I call on every one of you to do everything possible to stop the war," Ukrainian envoy Sergiy Kyslytsya was quoted as saying by CNN during the meeting of the UN Security Council (UNSC).

However, defending Russia's decision to take military action in the Donbas region, the Russian envoy to the UN Vasily Alekseevich Nebenzya said "the root of today's crisis around Ukraine is the actions of Ukraine itself."

"The root of today's crisis around Ukraine is the actions of Ukraine itself, who for many years was sabotaging its obligations under the (Minsk agreement)," said Nebenzya.