Is world inching closer to World War III as Russia declares war on Ukraine?

MOSCOW: Despite several appeals for peace and concerted efforts by international leaders to prevent a full-scale military confrontation between Russia and Ukraine, Moscow on Thursday declared war on Kyiv. 

The announcement by Putin has once again stoked fears of the world inching closer to World War III although all international leaders have categorically ruled out the possibility of the Russia-Ukraine conflict turning into a full-grown war, they have not denied that it may ''lead to the deaths of thousands of innocent lives and destruction on a large scale.''

Announcing a special "military operation" in the Donbas region, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned other countries that any attempt to interfere with the Russian action would lead to "consequences". Delivering an emergency address, Putin said the operation has been launched to demilitarize Ukraine and defend people "suffering persecution and genocide" by the Kyiv regime.

"I have taken the decision to carry out a special military operation. Its goal will be to defend people who for eight years are suffering persecution and genocide by the Kyiv regime. For this we will aim for demilitarization and de-Nazification of Ukraine," said Putin, asking Ukrainian soldiers to lay down arms.

"Anyone who tries to interfere with us, or even more so, to create threats for our country and our people, must know that Russia`s response will be immediate and will lead you to such consequences as you have never before experienced in your history," he added.

Russia’s declaration of War came hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that his country posed no threat and will not pose any threat to Russia in future.

In an emotional appeal delivered largely in Russian, Zelenskyy said, "You are being told that Ukraine can pose a threat to Russia. "It was not like this in the past, it is not like this now and it will not be so in the future. You demand security guarantees from NATO. We also demand guarantees of our security - from you, from Russia, and other guarantors of the Budapest memorandum," Zelenskyy said in a video address.

Ukrainian President also warned that a Russian invasion would cost tens of thousands of lives. The White House too responded by warning that Putin will face significant consequences if Moscow invades Ukraine.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres asked the Russian President to stop "attacking Ukraine" and to give peace a chance, speaking at an emergency UN Security Council meeting on Wednesday night. "The day was full of rumours and indications of an offensive against Ukraine was imminent. In the recent past, there were several situations with similar indications, similar rumours," Guterres told the council

During the previous UNSC meeting, the world leaders made clear that the fate of Ukraine wasn't worth a direct military confrontation with Russia and the potential of a world war, so sanctions were the only limited option.

Responding swiftly to Russian President Vladimir Putin's order sending troops to separatist regions of Ukraine, world leaders have hit back with non-military actions against Moscow in hopes of averting a full-blown war in Europe.  However, despite all that, Putin continued to knock the world off-kilter with a strategy in which confusion about the true extent of an invasion seems to have worked to his advantage.