This attack could have rewritten the global post-Cold War security system. As civilians fled, the government of Ukraine pleaded for assistance.
Numerous casualties were suffered by military forces fighting Russians on multiple fronts.
Russian President Vladimir Putin ignored international condemnation and imposed new sanctions while he launched the most extensive ground war in Europe since World War II. He also referred chillingly to his country’s nuclear weapons. As a diplomatic solution to the crisis was impossible, he threatened any country that tried to interfere with it.
Ukrainian forces attempted to stop a Russian barrage on land-and-sea-based missiles. This attack was described by a senior U.S. defense officer as the first in a possible multi-phase invasion that aimed at seizing key population centres and eventually “decapitating” Ukraine and installing a new government. Officials from Ukraine claimed that they already had lost control over the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear plant, the scene of the worst nuclear accident in history.
“Russia has taken a dangerous path, but Ukraine is standing firm and will not give up its freedom,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukrainian President, tweeted. He was losing control of power and pleaded for more severe sanctions than those imposed by Western allies.
U.S. President Joe Biden issued new sanctions against Russia. He stated that Putin “chosen this war” and his country would suffer the consequences. Others nations announced or promised sanctions in the near future.
Fearing a Russian attack, thousands fled the capital city and hid underground, jamming Kyiv’s subway stations.
It felt almost cheery at times. Families ate dinner. Children played. Adults chatted. Many brought sleeping bags, dogs or crossword puzzles to help ease the waiting and the long nights ahead.
However, exhaustion was evident on many faces. Then there were the worries.
Anton Mironov, who waited out the night in a Soviet metro station, said, “Nobody believed this war would begin, and that they’d take Kyiv directly.” “I feel mostly fatigue. It doesn’t feel real.
An initial wave of missile strikes against key military and government installations began Thursday morning. This was quickly followed by a three-pronged ground attack. According to U.S. and Ukrainian officials, Russian forces were attacking Ukraine’s second largest city, Kharkiv. They also attacked the southern region Crimea which Russia annexed in 2014. And finally, they attacked the north from Belarus.
Zelenskyy had previously cut diplomatic ties to Moscow and declared martial law. He appealed for help from global leaders by saying that “if we don’t help now, if we fail to offer a strong assistance to Ukraine tomorrow, the war will knock at your door.”
Although both sides claimed that they had destroyed some military hardware and aircraft of the other, little else could be confirmed.
According to Myhailo Podolyak, the presidential adviser, Russian forces seized control over the Chernobyl plant, and the surrounding exclusion zone, hours after the invasion started.
According to the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency, it was informed by Ukraine about the takeover.
1986 was the year of the nuclear reactor explosion at the plant located 130 km (80 miles) north-east of Kyiv. This caused a radioactive cloud to spread across Europe. Later, a protective shell was placed over the reactor to stop leaks.
Jens Stoltenberg (the chief of NATO alliance) said that the “brutal act” of war had broken up peace in Europe. He joined a chorus of world leaders condemning an attack that could result in massive casualties and topple Ukraine’s democratically elected government. Global financial markets were shaken by the conflict: Oil prices rose and stocks plummeted amid fears that food and heating costs would soar.
Not only did the U.S. and Europe condemn their actions, but also South Korea, Australia, and other countries, and many countries prepared new sanctions. Even friends like Viktor Orban, from Hungary, sought to distance himself from Putin.
Boris Johnson, the British Prime Minister, stated that he wanted to isolate Russia from the U.K.’s finance markets. He announced sanctions to freeze the assets of all Russian banks and to prevent Russian companies and the Kremlin raising money on British market.
Johnson described Putin as “now we see him as what he really is — a bloodstained aggressor, who believes in imperial conquer,” Johnson stated.
Biden stated that the U.S. sanctions against Russia will be directed at oligarchs and state-controlled businesses, as well as high-tech industries. However, they are not intended to disrupt global energy markets. Russia’s natural gas and oil exports are essential energy sources for Europe.
Zelenskyy called on the U.S. to take further action and remove the Russians from SWIFT, which is a critical financial network connecting thousands of banks worldwide. The White House is reluctant to immediately remove Russia from SWIFT because it fears that it will cause huge economic problems in Europe and elsewhere in West.
Some Europeans were worried about a new world war. However, the U.S., its NATO partners, and other countries have not indicated that they will send troops into Ukraine. They fear a bigger conflict. Instead, they mobilized troops and other equipment to protect the alliance’s airspace and provide defense assistance to Ukraine.
NATO strengthened its Eastern European members as a precautionary measure, and Biden stated that the U.S. would deploy additional forces to Germany in order to support NATO.
European authorities declared the country’s aviation space an active conflict zone.
After denials for weeks, Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine. The country is roughly the same size as Texas and has been shifting toward the democratic West and away form Moscow’s control. Putin made it clear this week that he doesn’t see any reason for Ukraine to exist. This raises fears about a wider conflict in the vast area once ruled by the Soviet Union. Putin has denied any plans to invade Ukraine, but it is unclear what his ultimate goals are.
Ukrainians were advised to stay put and not panic.
“I didn’t think it would happen until the last moment. “I just pushed aside these thoughts,” Anna Dovnya, a terrified Anna Dovnya, said in Kyiv as she watched police and soldiers remove shrapnel from an explosion shell. “We have lost all our faith.”
It was hard to know what was actually happening on the ground because of the flood of military claims and counter-claims that social media has amplified.
Russia and Ukraine both claimed damage that they caused. Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed it had destroyed numerous Ukrainian military facilities, air bases and drones. It confirmed that one of its Su-25 attack planes was lost and blamed “pilot error”. An An-26 transport plane crashed due to technical problems, killing all crew members. It didn’t say how many were on board.
Russia claimed it wasn’t targeting cities but journalists witnessed destruction in many civilian areas.
According to Ukraine’s health minister, 57 Ukrainians were killed and 169 others were injured in the invasion. Although it was earlier reported that 40 soldiers had been killed, it wasn’t clear how many civilians were involved.
The readiness of the Polish military has increased, and Lithuania and Moldova are moving in the same direction.
Putin justified his actions in a televised overnight address. He claimed that the attack was necessary to protect civilians living in eastern Ukraine, a false claim the U.S. had predicted he would use as a pretext to invade. He claimed that the U.S. and its allies ignored Russia’s requests to stop Ukraine joining NATO and for security assurances, and that the military action was a “forced decision.”
Putin warned other countries to avoid meddling in international affairs to avoid international condemnation and countermeasures
He reminded Russia’s nuclear power and warned that anyone who attacks the country will be subject to terrible consequences.
Russian authorities acted quickly to crack down on criticisms of the invasion. More than half were in Moscow.