https://apnews.

com/article/russia-ukraine-europe-russia-moscow-kyiv-
626a8c5ec22217bacb24ece60fac4fe1

February 24, 2022

apnews.com
Russia attacks Ukraine as defiant Putin warns US, NATO
By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV, DASHA LITVINOVA, YURAS KARMANAU and JIM HEINTZ
10�12 minutes

MOSCOW (AP) � Russian troops launched their anticipated attack on Ukraine on

Thursday, as President Vladimir Putin cast aside international condemnation and
sanctions, warning other countries that any attempt to interfere would lead to
�consequences you have never seen.�

Big explosions were heard before dawn in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Odesa as world leaders
decried the start of an Russian invasion that could cause massive casualties and
topple Ukraine�s democratically elected government.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy introduced martial law, saying Russia has
targeted Ukraine�s military infrastructure and explosions are heard across the
country. Zelenskyy said he had just talked to President Joe Biden and the U.S. was
rallying international support for Ukraine. He urged Ukrainians to stay home and
not to panic

Biden pledged new sanctions meant to punish Russia for an act of aggression that
the international community had for weeks anticipated but could not prevent through
diplomacy.

Putin justified it all in a televised address, asserting the attack was needed to
protect civilians in eastern Ukraine � a false claim the U.S. had predicted he
would make as a pretext for an invasion. He accused the U.S. and its allies of
ignoring Russia�s demand to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO and offer Moscow
security guarantees, and credulously claimed that Russia doesn�t intend to occupy
Ukraine but will move to �demilitarize� it and bring those who committed crimes to
justice.

ratio

Youtube video thumbnail

Biden in a written statement condemned the �unprovoked and unjustified attack� on

Ukraine and he promised the U.S. and its allies �will hold Russia accountable.�
Biden said he planned to speak to Americans on Thursday after a meeting of the
Group of Seven leaders. More sanctions against Russia were expected to be announced
Thursday.

Ukraine�s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba described the action as a �full-scale

invasion of Ukraine� and a �war of aggression,� adding, �Ukraine will defend itself
and will win. The world can and must stop Putin. The time to act is now.�

The Russian military said it has struck Ukrainian air bases and other military
assets and hasn�t targeted populated areas. The Russian Defense Ministry statement
said the military is using precision weapons to target Ukrainian air bases, air
defense assets and other military infrastructure. It claimed that �there is no
threat to civilian population.�

Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to Ukraine�s interior minister, said on Facebook

that the Russian military has launched missile strikes on Ukrainian military
command facilities, air bases and military depots in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Dnipro.

After the initial explosions in Kyiv, people could be heard shouting in the
streets. But then a sense of normality returned, with cars circulating and people
walking in the streets as a pre-dawn commute appeared to be starting in relative
calm.

Beyond casualties that could overwhelm Ukraine�s government, the consequences of

the conflict and resulting sanctions levied on Russia could reverberate throughout
the world, affecting energy supplies in Europe, jolting global financial markets
and threatening the post-Cold War balance on the continent.

Asian stock markets plunged and oil prices surged after the military action got
underway. Earlier, Wall Street�s benchmark S&P 500 index fell 1.8% to an eight-
month low after the Kremlin said rebels in eastern Ukraine asked for military
assistance

Anticipating international condemnation and countermeasures, Putin issued a stark

warning to other countries not to meddle, 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 the consequences you have never seen in
history.�

Putin urged Ukrainian servicemen to �immediately put down arms and go home.�

In a stark reminder of Russia�s nuclear power, Putin warned that �no one should
have any doubts that a direct attack on our country will lead to the destruction
and horrible consequences for any potential aggressor.� He emphasized that Russia
is �one of the most potent nuclear powers and also has a certain edge in a range of
state-of-the-art weapons.�

Though the U.S. on Tuesday announced the repositioning of forces around the
Baltics, Biden has said he will not send in troops to fight Russia.

Putin announced the military operation after the Kremlin said rebels in eastern
Ukraine asked Russia for military assistance to help fend off Ukrainian
�aggression,� an announcement that the White House said was a �false flag�
operation by Moscow to offer up a pretext for an invasion.

Putin�s announcement came just hours after the Ukrainian president rejected
Moscow�s claims that his country poses a threat to Russia and made a passionate,
last-minute plea for peace.

�The people of Ukraine and the government of Ukraine want peace,� Zelenskyy said in
an emotional overnight address, speaking in Russian in a direct appeal to Russian
citizens. �But if we come under attack, if we face an attempt to take away our
country, our freedom, our lives and lives of our children, we will defend
ourselves. When you attack us, you will see our faces, not our backs.�

Zelenskyy said he asked to arrange a call with Putin late Wednesday, but the
Kremlin did not respond.

In an apparent reference to Putin�s move to authorize the deployment of the Russian

military to �maintain peace� in eastern Ukraine, Zelensky warned that �this step
could mark the start of a big war on the European continent.�

�Any provocation, any spark could trigger a blaze that will destroy everything,� he
said.
He challenged the Russian propaganda claims, saying that �you are told that this
blaze will bring freedom to the people of Ukraine, but the Ukrainian people are
free.�

At an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council called by Ukraine because of

the imminent threat of a Russian invasion, members still unaware of Putin�s
announcement appealed to him to stop an attack. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio
Guterres opened the meeting, just before the announcement, telling Putin: �Stop
your troops from attacking Ukraine. Give peace a chance. Too many people have
already died.�

NATO Secretary-General Jen Stoltenberg issued a statement saying he strongly

condemns �Russia�s reckless and unprovoked attack on Ukraine, which puts at risk
countless civilian lives. Once again, despite our repeated warnings and tireless
efforts to engage in diplomacy, Russia has chosen the path of aggression against a
sovereign and independent country.�

Anxiety about an imminent Russian offensive soared after Putin recognized the
separatist regions� independence on Monday, endorsed the deployment of troops to
the rebel territories and received parliamentary approval to use military force
outside the country. The West responded with sanctions.

Late Wednesday, Ukrainian lawmakers approved a decree that imposes a nationwide

state of emergency for 30 days starting Thursday. The measure allows authorities to
declare curfews and other restrictions on movement, block rallies and ban political
parties and organizations �in the interests of national security and public order.�

The action reflected increasing concern among Ukrainian authorities after weeks of
trying to project calm. The Foreign Ministry advised against travel to Russia and
recommended that any Ukrainians who are there leave immediately.

Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said Wednesday the Russian force of more than
150,000 troops arrayed along Ukraine�s borders is in an advanced state of
readiness. �They are ready to go right now,� Kirby said.

Early Thursday, airspace over all of Ukraine was shut down to civilian air traffic,
according to a notice to airmen. A commercial flight tracking website showed that
an Israeli El Al Boeing 787 flying from Tel Aviv to Toronto turned abruptly out of
Ukrainian airspace before detouring over Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and Poland. The
only other aircraft tracked over Ukraine was a U.S. RQ-4B Global Hawk unmanned
surveillance plane, which began flying westward early Thursday after Russia put in
place flight restrictions over Ukrainian territory.

Another wave of distributed-denial-of-service attacks hit Ukraine�s parliament and

other government and banking websites on Wednesday, and cybersecurity researchers
said unidentified attackers had also infected hundreds of computers with
destructive malware.

Officials have long said they expect cyberattacks to precede and accompany any
Russian military incursion, and analysts said the incidents hew to a nearly two-
decade-old Russian playbook of wedding cyber operations with real-world aggression.

Even before Putin�s announcement, dozens of nations imposed sanctions on Russia,

further squeezing Russian oligarchs and banks out of international markets.

Biden allowed sanctions to move forward against the company that built the Russia-
to-Germany Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline and against the company�s CEO.
Germany said Tuesday that it was indefinitely suspending the project, after Biden
charged that Putin had launched �the beginning of a Russian invasion of Ukraine� by
sending troops into the separatist regions. The pipeline is complete but has not
yet begun operating.

Even before the Russian military attack on Ukraine began, the threat of war had
shredded Ukraine�s economy and raised the specter of massive casualties, energy
shortages across Europe and global economic chaos.

European Union sanctions against Russia took effect, targeting several companies
along with 351 Russian lawmakers who voted for a motion urging Putin to recognize
the rebel regions and 27 senior government officials, business executives and top
military officers.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has shrugged off the sanctions, saying that �Russia
has proven that, with all the costs of the sanctions, it is able to minimize the
damage.�

___

Karmanau and Heintz reported from Kyiv. 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 contributed.

___

Follow AP�s coverage of the Ukraine crisis at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine