By Servet Gunerigok
WASHINGTON (AA) - Ukrainian foreign minister said Wednesday that "no one will be able to sit out" the crisis if Russia decides that it can move forward with further aggression.
Dmytro Kuleba spoke at a UN General Assembly session and warned member states about "painful consequences" from an invasion by Russia that will fall on their governments and people, in addition to a similar fate for Ukraine.
"What is happening right now in eastern Ukraine, where Russian tanks are rolling in and along the Ukrainian borders, where Russian forces are amassed in enormous quantities must be a concern for everyone, all of you," said Kuleba.
"This is why we need to use this last chance for action and stop Russia where it is," he added.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday announced that Moscow was recognizing Luhansk and Donetsk as "independent" states, followed quickly by sending Russian forces there to "maintain peace."
The announcements drew widespread global condemnation as violations of the UN Charter and international law, with Western countries announcing new sanctions on Russia.
In 2014, after invading Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, Moscow began to support separatist forces in eastern Ukraine against the central government, a policy that it has maintained for the past seven years. The conflict has taken more than 13,000 lives, according to the UN.
Putin's latest moves follow Russia amassing more than 100,000 troops and heavy equipment in and around its neighbor, with the US and Western countries accusing it of setting the stage for an invasion.
Russia has denied it is preparing an invasion and instead claims Western countries undermined its security through NATO's expansion toward its borders.