By YURAS KARMANAU, JIM HEINTZ, VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV and DASHA LITVINOVA
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Thursday, unleashing airstrikes on cities and navy bases and sending in troops and tanks from three sides in an assault that might rewrite the worldwide post-Chilly Battle safety order. Ukraine’s authorities pleaded for assist as civilians piled into trains and automobiles to flee.
Russian President Vladimir Putin ignored international condemnation and cascading new sanctions as he unleashed the most important floor battle in Europe since World Battle II, and chillingly referred to his nation’s nuclear arsenal. He threatened any nation making an attempt to intrude with “penalties you have got by no means seen.”
Ukrainian officers mentioned their forces had been battling Russians on a number of fronts, had suffered dozens of deaths and had misplaced management of the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear energy plant, scene of the world’s worst nuclear catastrophe.
“Russia has launched into a path of evil, however Ukraine is defending itself and received’t quit its freedom,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy tweeted.
U.S. President Joe Biden introduced new sanctions towards Russia, saying Putin “selected this battle” and that his nation would bear the results of his motion. Different nations additionally introduced sanctions, or mentioned they'd shortly.
Fearing a Russian assault on the capital metropolis, hundreds of individuals went deep underground as night time fell, jamming Kyiv’s subway stations.
At occasions it felt virtually cheerful. Households ate dinner. Kids performed. Adults chatted. Individuals introduced sleeping baggage or canines or crossword puzzles — something to alleviate the ready and the lengthy night time forward.
However the exhaustion was clear on many faces. And the concerns.
“No one believed that this battle would begin, and that they'd take Kyiv instantly” mentioned Anton Mironov, ready out the night time in one of many previous Soviet metro stations. “I really feel largely fatigue. None of it feels actual.”
The invasion started early Thursday with a sequence of missile strikes, many on key authorities and navy installations, rapidly adopted by a three-pronged floor assault. Ukrainian and U.S. officers mentioned Russian forces had been attacking from the east towards Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest metropolis; from the southern area of Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014; and from Belarus to the north.
Zelenskyy, who had earlier lower diplomatic ties with Moscow and declared martial legislation, appealed to international leaders, saying that “for those who don’t assist us now, for those who fail to supply a robust help to Ukraine, tomorrow the battle will knock in your door.”
Each side claimed to have destroyed a few of the different’s plane and navy hardware, although little of that may very well be confirmed.
Hours after the invasion started, Russian forces seized management of the now-unused Chernobyl plant and its surrounding exclusion zone after a fierce battle, presidential adviser Myhailo Podolyak informed The Related Press.
The Vienna-based Worldwide Atomic Power Company mentioned it was informed by Ukraine of the takeover, including that there had been “no casualties or destruction on the industrial website.”
The 1986 catastrophe occurred when a nuclear reactor on the plant 130 kilometers (80 miles) north of Kyiv exploded, sending a radioactive cloud throughout Europe. The broken reactor was later lined by a protecting shell to stop leaks.
The chief of the NATO alliance, Jens Stoltenberg, mentioned the “brutal act of battle” shattered peace in Europe, becoming a member of a refrain of world leaders decrying an assault that might trigger large casualties and topple Ukraine’s democratically elected authorities. The battle shook international monetary markets: Shares plunged and oil costs soared amid considerations that heating payments and meals costs would skyrocket.
Condemnation got here not solely from the U.S. and Europe, however from South Korea, Australia and past — and plenty of governments readied new sanctions. Even pleasant leaders like Hungary’s Viktor Orban sought to distance themselves from Putin.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson mentioned he aimed to chop off Russia from the U.Okay.’s monetary markets as he introduced sanctions, freezing the property of all giant Russian banks and planning to bar Russian firms and the Kremlin from elevating cash on British markets.
“Now we see him for what he's — a bloodstained aggressor who believes in imperial conquest,” Johnson mentioned of Putin.
The U.S. sanctions will goal Russian banks, oligarchs, state-controlled firms and high-tech sectors, Biden mentioned, however they had been designed to not disrupt international power markets. Russian oil and pure gasoline exports are important power sources for Europe.
Zelenskyy urged the U.S. and West to go additional and lower the Russians from the SWIFT system, a key monetary community that connects hundreds of banks around the globe. The White Home has been reluctant to right away lower Russia from SWIFT, apprehensive it might trigger huge financial issues in Europe and elsewhere within the West.
Whereas some nervous Europeans speculated a couple of attainable new world battle, the U.S. and its NATO companions have proven no indication they'd ship troops into Ukraine, fearing a bigger battle. They as a substitute mobilized troops and gear across the alliance’s flanks as Ukraine pleaded for protection help and assist defending its airspace.
NATO strengthened its members in Jap Europe as a precaution, and Biden mentioned the U.S. was deploying further forces to Germany to bolster NATO.
European authorities declared the nation’s airspace an energetic battle zone.
After weeks of denying plans to invade, Putin launched the operation on a rustic the dimensions of Texas that has more and more tilted towards the democratic West and away from Moscow’s sway. The autocratic chief made clear earlier this week that he sees no motive for Ukraine to exist, elevating fears of attainable broader battle within the huge house that the Soviet Union as soon as dominated. Putin denied plans to occupy Ukraine, however his final objectives stay hazy.
Ukrainians had been urged to shelter in place and to not panic.
“Till the final second, I didn’t consider it will occur. I simply pushed away these ideas,” mentioned a terrified Anna Dovnya in Kyiv, watching troopers and police take away shrapnel from an exploded shell. “We've got misplaced all religion.”
With social media amplifying a torrent of navy claims and counter-claims, it was tough to find out precisely what was occurring on the bottom.
Russia and Ukraine made competing claims about harm they'd inflicted. Russia’s Protection Ministry mentioned it had destroyed scores of Ukrainian air bases, navy services and drones. It confirmed the lack of considered one of its Su-25 assault jets, blaming “pilot error,” and mentioned an An-26 transport airplane had crashed due to technical failure, killing your entire crew. It didn't say what number of had been aboard.
Russia mentioned it was not concentrating on cities, however journalists noticed destruction in lots of civilian areas.
Ukraine’s well being minister mentioned 57 Ukrainians had been killed within the invasion and 169 extra had been wounded. It was not clear what number of had been civilians, though earlier within the day it had mentioned 40 troopers had died.
Poland’s navy elevated its readiness degree, and Lithuania and Moldova moved towards doing the identical.
Putin justified his actions in an in a single day televised deal with, asserting the assault was wanted to guard civilians in japanese Ukraine — a false declare the U.S. predicted he would make as a pretext for invasion. He accused the U.S. and its allies of ignoring Russia’s calls for to stop Ukraine from becoming a member of NATO and for safety ensures, saying the navy motion was a “pressured measure.”
Anticipating worldwide condemnation and countermeasures, Putin issued a stark warning to different international locations to not meddle.
In a reminder of Russia’s nuclear energy, he warned that “nobody ought to have any doubts that a direct assault on our nation will result in the destruction and horrible penalties for any potential aggressor.”
Inside Russia, authorities moved swiftly to crack down on any important voices. OVD-Information, a gaggle that tracks political arrests, reported 1,620 individuals in 52 Russian cities had been detained for protesting the invasion, greater than half of them in Moscow.
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Isachenkov and Litvinova reported from Moscow. Francesca Ebel in Kyiv; Angela Charlton in Paris; Geir Moulson and Frank Jordans in Berlin; Raf Casert and Lorne Cook dinner in Brussels; Nic Dumitrache in Mariupol, Ukraine, Inna Varennytsia in japanese Ukraine; and Robert Burns, Matthew Lee, Aamer Madhani, Eric Tucker, Nomaan Service provider, Ellen Knickmeyer, Zeke Miller, Chris Megerian and Darlene Superville in Washington contributed.
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Observe AP’s protection of the Ukraine disaster at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine