Kyiv: Russian troops launched a wide-ranging attack on Ukraine on Thursday, as President Vladimir Putin cast aside international condemnation and sanctions and warned other countries that any attempt to interfere would lead to consequences you have never seen.
Ukrainian border guards released footage of what they said were Russian military vehicles moving in, and big explosions were heard in the capital Kyiv, Kharkiv in the east and Odesa in the west.
As the Russian military claimed to have wiped out Ukraine’s entire air defenses in a matter of hours, Ukrainians fled some cities and European authorities declared Ukrainian air space an active conflict zone.
World leaders decried the start of a long-anticipated invasion with far-reaching consequences, as global financial markets plunged and oil prices soared. Russia’s actions could cause massive casualties, topple Ukraine’s democratically elected government and upend geopolitics and Europe’s post-Cold War security balance.
Governments from the US to Asia and Europe readied new sanctions after weeks of failed efforts for a diplomatic solution but global powers have said they will not intervene militarily to defend Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy cut diplomatic ties with Moscow and declared martial law, saying Russia has targeted Ukraine’s military infrastructure.
Ukrainians who had long braced for the prospect of an assault were urged to stay home and not to panic even as Ukrainian authorities reported artillery barrages and airstrikes on targets around the country.
After weeks of denying plans to invade, Putin justified his actions in an overnight televised address, asserting that the attack was needed to protect civilians in eastern Ukraine a false claim the US had predicted he would make as a pretext for an invasion.
He accused the US and its allies of ignoring Russia’s demands to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO and for security guarantees.
He also claimed that Russia does not intend to occupy Ukraine but will move to demilitarise it and bring those who committed crimes to justice.
The attacks came first from the air, but later Ukrainian border guards released security camera footage Thursday showing a line of Russian military vehicles crossing into Ukraine’s government-held territory from Russian-annexed Crimea.
Oleksii Arestovich, an adviser to Zelenskyy, said that Russian troops have moved up to 5 kilometers (3 miles) into the Ukrainian territory in the Kharkiv and Chernihiv regions, and, possibly in other areas.
President Joe Biden pledged new sanctions to punish Russia for the aggression that the international community had expected for weeks but could not prevent through diplomacy.
Putin justified it all in a televised address, asserting that the attack was needed to protect civilians in eastern Ukraine a false claim the US had predicted he would make as a pretext for an invasion.
He accused the US and its allies of ignoring Russia’s demands to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO and for security guarantees.
He also claimed that Russia does not intend to occupy Ukraine but will move to demilitarise it and bring those who committed crimes to justice.
Biden in a written statement condemned the unprovoked and unjustified attack, and he promised that the US and its allies would hold Russia accountable.
The president said he planned to speak to Americans on Thursday after a meeting of the Group of Seven leaders. More sanctions against Russia were expected to be announced Thursday. Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba described the assault as a full-scale invasion and said Ukraine will defend itself and will win. “The world can and must stop Putin. The time to act is now,”. (AP)