NEW YORK, 23 February 2022, (TON): A major conflict between Russia and Ukraine must be prevented at all costs, UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo has told an emergency session of the Security Council.

Briefing the council late on Monday, DiCarlo voiced concern over the intensifying shelling in Donetsk and Luhansk which followed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to send Russian troops into the two separatist pro-Moscow regions in the east of the country.

Artillery fire has led to a number of casualties, as well as the targeting of civilian infrastructure and mass evacuations.

Reminding Security Council members of their responsibilities under international humanitarian law, DiCarlo called for an immediate halt to hostilities, the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure, and an end to inflammatory rhetoric.

The UN official described the coming hours and days as critical, and reiterated the UN’s commitment to stay and deliver, and remain fully operational in Ukraine, including in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

Russia’s troop deployment into eastern Ukraine followed a decision to recognize the breakaway Donetsk and Luhansk regions as independent states.

Describing the deployment as a peacekeeping mission, Putin said that the move should have been made a long time ago.