Russia on Friday condemned the US-UK airstrikes that targeted Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen, calling them a “blatant armed aggression.”
Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzia said that “these two countries have carried out a major attack on Yemeni territory. I am not talking about an attack on a group inside the country, but an attack on the entire country. Aircraft, warships and submarines were also used,” referring to the strikes launched by the US and UK with the support of allied countries.
The US defended the military strikes on the Houthis as legal and in line with international law.
US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the UN Security Council that the strikes carried out overnight targeted “disrupting the Houthis’ ability to continue their reckless attacks on ships and weakening that ability.”
She added that Houthi attacks have forced more than 2,000 ships to divert course from the Red Sea since November.
Thomas-Greenfield stressed that her country will continue “diplomatic efforts while seeking to defend commercial ships in the Red Sea.”
US and UK forces launched airstrikes on Friday morning on sites used by the Houthi group in Yemen in response to their attacks on ships in the Red Sea.
