Russia went from threats to action Thursday as it sent troops to lead a wide-ranging attack on neighboring Ukraine, with explosions heard before dawn in the capital Kyiv and a host of other cities towards the east.
Ukrainians were seen fleeing the attacks from land forces and in the air as Russian military claimed to have incapacitated all of Ukraine’s air defenses and air bases within hours, AP reports.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin ignored international condemnation and sanctions, warning other countries any attempt to interfere would lead to “consequences you have never seen,” as Breitbart News reported.
Damaged radar arrays and other equipment is seen at Ukrainian military facility outside Mariupol, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
A Russian military truck moves along a road in Russia’s southern Rostov region, which borders the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, on February 23, 2022. (Photo by STRINGER / AFP) (Photo by STRINGER/AFP via Getty Images)
Damaged radar arrays and other equipment is seen at Ukrainian military facility outside Mariupol, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. Russia has launched a barrage of air and missile strikes on Ukraine early Thursday and Ukrainian officials said that Russian troops have rolled into the country from the north, east and south. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
Police and security personnel inspect gather by the remains of a shell landed in a street in Kyiv on February 24, 2022. (SERGEI SUPINSKY/AFP via Getty Images)
A woman stands in a street as black smoke rises from a military airport in Chuguyev near Kharkiv on February 24, 2022.(ARIS MESSINIS/AFP via Getty Images)
Firefighters work on a fire on a building after bombings on the eastern Ukraine town of Chuguiv on February 24, 2022, as Russian armed forces are trying to invade Ukraine from several directions, using rocket systems and helicopters to attack Ukrainian position in the south, the border guard service said. (ARIS MESSINIS/AFP via Getty Images)
People stand around a damaged structure caused by a rocket on February 24, 2022 in Kyiv, Ukraine. Overnight, Russia began a large-scale attack on Ukraine, with explosions reported in multiple cities and far outside the restive eastern regions held by Russian-backed rebels. (Chris McGrath/Getty Images)
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy issued a video statement declaring martial law. He told Ukrainians that the United States was gathering international support to respond to Russia. He urged residents to remain calm and stay at home.
At the same time Ukraine mobilised its own forces to ready for further attacks.
Ukrainian soldiers ride in a military vehicle in Mariupol, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
A Ukrainian military vehicle drives in central Kyiv on February 24, 2022.(DANIEL LEAL/AFP via Getty Images)
A woman and child peer out of the window of a bus as they leave Sievierodonetsk, the Luhansk region, in eastern Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
Ukrainian servicemen get ready to repel an attack in Ukraine’s Lugansk region on February 24, 2022. (ANATOLII STEPANOV/AFP via Getty)
Putin said the military operation was needed to protect civilians in eastern Ukraine — a claim the U.S. had predicted he would falsely make to justify an invasion.
The Russian leader accused the U.S. and its allies of ignoring Russia’s demands to block Ukraine from ever joining NATO and offer Moscow security guarantees.