World leaders condemn Russia's 'hideous and barbaric' attack on Ukraine

World leaders are strongly condemning Russian President Vladimir Putin's "barbaric" attack on Ukraine.

After Russia launched an attack on Ukraine that has already left more than 40 people dead, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in an address Thursday said "Putin has unleashed war" without "any provocation and without any credible excuse," and "we cannot, and will not, just look away." Johnson called the attack "hideous and barbaric" and said the U.K. will unveil a "massive package" of sanctions designed to "hobble the Russian economy."

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned "in the strongest possible terms Russia's egregious" attack, calling it a "clear further violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity," while German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called it "a blatant violation of international law" that there is "no justification for," and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the attack was a "heavy blow to the peace and stability of the region."

Finland President Sauli Niinistö "strongly" condemned the "attack on the entire European security order," while European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen vowed to "hold President Putin accountable" for the "unprecedented act of aggression" targeting "the whole of the International Peace order." Jens Stoltenberg, secretary general of NATO, also condemned Putin's "deliberate, cold-blooded and long-planned" invasion of Ukraine, saying "we now have war in Europe on a scale and of a type we thought belonged to history." Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying, meanwhile, said that Russia "does not need China or other countries to provide" military assistance and that "China did not wish to see what happened in Ukraine today," per The Washington Post.

President Biden said that the U.S. and its allies will respond in a "unified and decisive way" to Russia's "unprovoked and unjustified attack." He is expected to meet Thursday with G7 leaders. "The United States and our Allies and partners will be imposing severe sanctions on Russia," Biden said.

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