‘It’s too late’: Russian move roils UN meeting on Ukraine

By JENNIFER PELTZ and EDITH M. LEDERER
Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council has held an emergency meeting that was meant as an eleventh hour effort to dissuade Russia from sending troops into Ukraine. But the message became moot as it was delivered late Wednesday. While diplomats at U.N. headquarters were making pleas for Russia to back off, Russian President Vladimir Putin went on television in his homeland to announce a military operation that he said is intended to protect civilians in Ukraine. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres opened the meeting by asking Putin to “give peace a chance.” By the end of the night, Guterres was imploring him to bring his troops back to Russia. The U.N. chief pleaded: “In the name of humanity, do not allow to start in Europe what could be the worst war since the beginning of this century.”