NATO's Geoana: Situation, extremely serious, Russian Federation endangers lives of millions of civilians

NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoana announced that he had a phone call with Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, stressing that the situation generated by the "reckless and unprovoked" attack of the Russian Federation is an "extremely serious" one, Agerpres reports.

"I have just spoken to the Prime Minister of Ukraine, Denys Shmyhal, following the reckless and unprovoked attack of the Russian Federation. The situation is extremely serious, the Russian Federation attacks on all fronts and endangers the lives of millions of civilians. We call on Russia to immediately stop military activities and respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine," Geoana wrote on Facebook on Thursday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday morning announced a military operation in eastern Ukraine. The Kremlin leader urged the Ukrainian army to "lay down its weapons" and vowed to counter any foreign interference in the Russian operation in Ukraine. Putin claimed that he was trying to demilitarize and "de-Nazify" Ukraine.