On Thursday, Russian troops launched their anticipated onslaught on Ukraine, ignoring international censure and sanctions and warning other countries that any attempt to intervene would result in ‘consequences you have never seen.’
Large explosions were reported in Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Odesa before morning, as international leaders criticised the commencement of a Russian invasion that might result in catastrophic casualties and topple Ukraine’s democratically elected government.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared martial law, claiming that Russia had attacked Ukraine’s military infrastructure and that explosions could be heard throughout the country. Zelenskyy stated that he had recently spoken with President Joe Biden and that the United States was mobilising worldwide support for Ukraine. He advised Ukrainians not to panic and to remain at home.
Biden promised further penalties to punish Russia for this act of aggression that the international community had been anticipating for weeks but had been unable to avoid through diplomacy.
Putin justified everything in a public address, claiming that the attack was necessary to protect people in eastern Ukraine – a bogus assertion that the US had anticipated he would use as a justification for an invasion. He criticised the US and it’s allies for ignoring Russia’s demand to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO and provide Moscow with security assurances, and he stated credibly that Russia does not plan to occupy Ukraine but will work to ‘demilitarise’ it and bring those responsible to trial.
In a written statement, Biden condemned Ukraine’s ‘unprovoked and unjustified strike,’ and vowed that the US and its allies will ‘hold Russia accountable.’ After a meeting of the Group of Seven leaders on Thursday, Biden said he planned to talk to Americans. Additional sanctions against Russia were likely to be announced on Thursday.
Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister, called the move a ‘full-scale invasion of Ukraine’ and a ‘war of aggression,’ adding that ‘Ukraine will defend itself and will triumph.’ Putin can and must be stopped. The time has come to act.”
According to the Russian military, it has bombed Ukrainian air bases and other military installations while avoiding population regions. According to a Russian Defense Ministry statement, the military is targeting Ukrainian air bases, air defence installations, and other military facilities with precise weaponry. It asserted that ‘there is no threat to the civilian population.’
The Russian military has started missile strikes against Ukrainian military command centres, air bases, and military depots in Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Dnipro, according to Anton Gerashchenko, an assistant to Ukraine’s interior minister, who posted on Facebook.
People in Kyiv could be heard shouting in the streets after the initial explosions. But suddenly a sense of normalcy returned, with cars circulating and people walking in the streets as the pre-dawn commute looked to begin in relative peace.
Beyond the casualties that could overwhelm Ukraine’s government, the effects of the battle and the sanctions imposed on Russia could echo around the world, disrupting European energy supplies, jolting global financial markets, and jeopardising the continent’s post-Cold War equilibrium.
Following the start of the military action, Asian stock markets plummeted and oil prices skyrocketed. Earlier, the S&P 500 index sank 1.8 percent to an eight-month low after the Kremlin indicated separatists in eastern Ukraine had requested military support.
Anticipating international condemnation and retaliation, Putin issued a stern warning to other countries not to interfere, saying, ‘whoever tries to impede us, let alone create threats for our country and its people, must know that the Russian response will be immediate and lead to consequences you have never seen in history.’
Putin encouraged Ukrainian troops to ‘immediately lay down their arms and return home. ‘Putin warned that ;no one should have any doubts that a direct attack on our nation will result in the destruction and horrific consequences for any possible aggressor’ in a harsh reminder of Russia’s nuclear capabilities. He stressed that Russia is ‘one of the most powerful nuclear powers, as well as having a certain edge in a spectrum of cutting-edge weaponry.’
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