KIEV, Ukraine >> Russia launched a wide-ranging attack on Ukraine on Thursday, hitting towns and bases with airstrikes or shelling while civilians crowded into trains and cars to flee. Ukraine’s government said Russian tanks and troops rolled across the border in what it called a “full-blown war” that could rewrite the geopolitical order and the fallout from which is already reverberating around the world.
In announcing a major military operation, Russian President Vladimir Putin deflected global condemnation and the cascading of new sanctions – and chillingly referred to his country’s nuclear arsenal as he hurled at any foreign country that tried to interfere with “consequences you never seen before” threatened.
The NATO chief said the “brutal act of war” had shattered peace on the European continent as the US-led alliance mobilized more troops to move to Eastern Europe.
Sirens blared and people crowded into train stations and took to the streets in the Ukrainian capital as the government said the former Soviet republic was facing a long-awaited invasion from the east, north and south and reported killing more than 40 soldiers and dozens had been wounded.
“A full-scale war in Europe has begun,” said Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak. “Russia is attacking not only Ukraine, but the rules of normal life in the modern world.”
World leaders condemned the attack, which could claim massive casualties, overthrow Ukraine’s democratically elected government, upend the post-Cold War security order and have serious economic repercussions around the world, from rising heating bills to soaring food prices .
“We woke up today to a different world,” said the German foreign minister, as NATO agreed to reinforce air, land and naval forces on its eastern flank near Ukraine and Russia.
Global financial markets collapsed and oil prices soared, and governments from the US to Asia and Europe prepared fresh sanctions after weeks of failed efforts to find a diplomatic solution. But global powers have said they will not intervene militarily to defend Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky broke off diplomatic relations with Moscow and declared martial law. Ukrainians, who had long braced themselves for the prospect of an attack, were urged to stay home and not panic, even as officials said Russian troops were rolling into Ukraine and large explosions were in the capital, Kiev , in Kharkiv in the east and in Odessa in the west.
“We face war and terror. What could be worse?” said 64-year-old Liudmila Gireyeva in Kiev. She planned to go to the western city of Lviv and then try to move to Poland to live with her daughter. Putin “will be condemned by history, and the Ukrainians will condemn him.”
After weeks of denying plans for an invasion, Putin justified his actions in a late-night televised address, claiming the attack was necessary to protect civilians in eastern Ukraine — a false claim the US had predicted as a pretext for an invasion. He accused the US and its allies of ignoring Russia’s demands for Ukraine to join NATO and for security guarantees.
His spokesman said Thursday that Russia does not intend to occupy Ukraine but will “demilitarize” it.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels: “This is a premeditated, cold-blooded and long-planned invasion. … Russia is trying to use force to rewrite history.”
The attacks were initially from the air. Ukrainian authorities later described ground invasions in several regions, and border guards on Thursday released footage from surveillance cameras showing a number of Russian military vehicles entering Ukrainian-controlled territory from Russia-annexed Crimea.
An Associated Press photographer in Mariupol heard explosions and saw dozens of people with suitcases heading to their cars to leave the city. Another AP reporter saw the aftermath of an explosion in Kiev. AP reports elsewhere in Ukraine found other damage.
The Russian military claimed to have wiped out all of Ukraine’s air defenses within hours, and European authorities declared the country’s airspace an active conflict zone. Claims by Russia and Ukraine that they shot down several Russian planes could not be immediately verified. Dating from the Soviet era, Ukraine’s air defense system and air force are dwarfed by Russia’s massive air force and precision weapons.
US President Joe Biden promised new sanctions to punish Russia for the “unprovoked and unjustified attack”. The president said he plans to speak to Americans Thursday after a meeting of Group of Seven leaders. It was expected that further sanctions against Russia would be announced.
Zelenskyy called on world leaders to provide defense assistance to Ukraine and help protect its airspace, and urged his compatriots to defend the nation. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba pleaded: “The world can and must stop Putin. The time to act is now.”
In the capital, Mayor Vitaly Klitschko advised residents to stay at home unless busy with critical work and urged them to prepare duffel bags with necessities and documents if they have to evacuate.
Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to Ukraine’s Interior Minister, said on Facebook that the Russian military launched missile attacks on Ukrainian military command facilities, air bases and military depots in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Dnipro.
The Russian Defense Ministry said it does not target cities but uses precision weapons, claiming that “there is no threat to civilians”.
The aftermath of the conflict and resulting sanctions against Russia began to resonate around the world.
Global equity markets plummeted and oil prices rose nearly $6 a barrel. Market benchmarks fell in Europe and Asia and US futures were significantly lower. Brent crude rose above $100 a barrel on Thursday, amid unease over potential disruptions to Russian supplies. The ruble fell.
Pending international condemnation and countermeasures, Putin issued a stark warning to other countries not to interfere.
Remembering Russia’s nuclear power, Putin warned that “no one should doubt that a direct attack on our country will lead to destruction and dire consequences for any potential attacker.”
Putin’s announcement came just hours after the Ukrainian president dismissed Moscow’s claims that his country posed a threat to Russia and made an impassioned plea for peace at the last minute.
“The people of Ukraine and the government of Ukraine want peace,” Zelenskyy said in an emotional nightly address in Russian, in a direct appeal to Russian citizens. “But if we’re attacked, if we’re tried to take our country, our freedom, our lives and the lives of our children, we will defend ourselves.”
Zelenskyy said he requested a call with Putin late Wednesday, but the Kremlin did not answer.
In an apparent reference to Putin’s attempt to authorize the Russian military’s “peacekeeping” deployment in eastern Ukraine, Zelenskyy warned that “this move could mark the start of a major war on the European continent.”
“Any provocation, any spark could start a fire that will destroy everything,” he said.
The attack began when the UN Security Council was holding an emergency meeting to repel an invasion. Members, still unaware of Putin’s announcement of the operation, appealed for him to resign. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres opened the meeting just before the announcement, telling Putin: “Give peace a chance.”
EU Council President Charles Michel and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen later promised to hold the Kremlin accountable.
“In these dark hours our thoughts are with Ukraine and the innocent women, men and children who have faced this unprovoked attack and fear for their lives,” they said on Twitter.
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Isachenkov and Litvinova reported from Moscow. Angela Charlton in Paris; Frank Jordans in Berlin; Lorne Cook in Brussels, Frank Bajak in Boston, Robert Burns, Matthew Lee, Aamer Madhani, Eric Tucker, Ellen Knickmeyer, Zeke Miller, Chris Megerian and Darlene Superville in Washington all contributed.
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Follow AP’s coverage of the Ukraine crisis at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
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