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WARSAW: Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine that opened with air and missile strikes on Ukrainian navy amenities earlier than troops and tanks rolled throughout the borders from the north, east and south.
The Ukrainian navy fought again on a number of fronts. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy mentioned in a video tackle early Friday that 137 folks, each servicemen and civilians, have been killed and tons of extra wounded.
A senior U.S. protection official mentioned Russia could also be intent on seizing Kyiv, the capital, and different key cities and finally putting in a extra pleasant authorities.
As Ukrainian forces fought again and civilians piled into trains and automobiles to flee, the U.S. and European leaders rushed to punish Russia with robust monetary sanctions. NATO moved to strengthen its jap flank.
Listed here are the issues to know in regards to the battle over Ukraine and the safety disaster in Japanese Europe: PUTIN MAKES HIS MOVE
In a televised tackle because the assault started, Russian President Vladimir Putin mentioned it was wanted to guard civilians in jap Ukraine, the place Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed separatists have been preventing for nearly eight years.
The U.S. had predicted Putin would falsely declare that the rebel-held areas had been beneath assault to justify an invasion.
The Russian chief warned different international locations that any try to intrude in Ukraine would “result in penalties you could have by no means seen in historical past” — a darkish menace implying Russia was ready to make use of its nuclear weapons.
Putin accused the U.S. and its allies of ignoring Russia’s calls for to dam Ukraine from ever becoming a member of NATO and provide Moscow safety ensures.
Putin mentioned Russia doesn’t intend to occupy Ukraine however plans to “demilitarize” it, a euphemism for destroying its armed forces. He urged Ukrainian servicemen to “instantly put down arms and go dwelling.” Quickly after his tackle, explosions had been heard within the cities of Kyiv, Kharkiv and Odesa.
The Russian Protection Ministry mentioned it had destroyed 83 Ukrainian navy amenities.
ZELENSKYY RESPONDS TO THE ATTACK
Ukraine’s president urged residents to stay calm and to remain at dwelling, and pleaded with world leaders to punish Putin with much more extreme sanctions.
He vowed that Ukraine will defend itself and ordered a full navy mobilization. Ukraine’s military stands at 250,000 servicemen with 140,000 reservists. The U.S. mentioned Russia had practically 200,000 troops arrayed close to Ukraine’s borders earlier than the invasion started.
Zelenskyy mentioned he has data that he is the No. 1 goal for the invading Russians however he’s decided to stay in Kyiv.
AN UNEASY NIGHT IN KYIV
By night Thursday, most of the capital’s residents took shelter deep underground in metro stations. Individuals introduced sleeping luggage and blankets, canine and crossword puzzles to cross an uneasy evening within the makeshift bomb shelters.
Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko had known as on town’s 3 million folks to remain indoors except they labored in essential sectors and mentioned everybody ought to put together go-bags with requirements equivalent to drugs and paperwork.
CHERNOBYL IN RUSSIAN HANDS
Ukraine mentioned it misplaced management of the Chernobyl nuclear website after Ukrainian forces waged a fierce battle with Russian troops. A nuclear reactor on the plant 130 kilometers (80 miles) north of Kyiv exploded in April 1986, sending a radioactive cloud throughout Europe. The broken reactor was later lined by a protecting shell.
Alyona Shevtsova, an adviser to the commander of Ukraine’s Floor Forces, wrote on Fb that the employees had been “taken hostage” when Russian troops seized the ability. The White Home press secretary expressed alarm, saying it might hamper efforts to take care of nuclear facility.
THE WEST REACTS
World leaders decried an invasion that might trigger huge casualties, topple Ukraine’s democratically elected authorities and threaten the post-Chilly Battle stability.
NATO Secretary Common Jens Stoltenberg known as Russia’s assault “a brutal act of battle” and mentioned Moscow had shattered peace on the European continent.
U.S. President Joe Biden mentioned Putin “has chosen a premeditated battle that may carry a catastrophic lack of life and human struggling.” The leaders of the Group of Seven known as on the worldwide group “to sentence this assault within the strongest attainable phrases, to face shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine, and lift their voice in opposition to this blatant violation of the basic rules of worldwide peace and safety.” The pinnacle of the U.N. refugee company urged neighboring international locations to maintain their borders open for Ukrainians fleeing the preventing. U.N. Excessive Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi mentioned his company had stepped up its operations and capability in each Ukraine and its neighbors.
WORLD MARKETS FALL
World inventory markets plunged and oil costs soared over considerations that heating payments and meals costs would skyrocket.
Past its human toll, the battle appears to be like set to ship costs spiraling even greater at gasoline pumps and grocery shops around the globe.
Russia and Ukraine are main producers not solely of vitality merchandise but in addition grains and varied different commodities. Battle might upend world provides, as might sanctions introduced by america and different allies.
WHAT SANCTIONS ARE WESTERN POWERS IMPOSING?
In asserting a brand new spherical of sanctions on Thursday, Biden mentioned the U.S. and its allies will block the belongings of 4 massive Russian banks, impose export controls and sanction oligarchs.
The penalties fall consistent with the White Home’s insistence that it will look to hit Russia’s monetary system and Putin’s internal circle, whereas additionally imposing export controls that will goal to starve Russia’s industries and navy of U.S. semiconductors and different high-tech merchandise.
New U.S. sanctions additionally focused the navy and monetary establishments of Belarus, which Russia is utilizing as a staging floor for its troops shifting into Ukraine from the north.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson mentioned he would goal to chop Russia off from the U.Okay.’s monetary market.
The sanctions embrace freezing the belongings of all main Russian banks, together with VTB Financial institution, its second-biggest. Britain additionally plans to bar Russian corporations and the Russian authorities from elevating cash on U.Okay. markets.
Britain will ban the export of a variety of high-tech merchandise, together with semiconductors, to Russia and bar its flagship airline, Aeroflot, from touchdown at U.Okay. airports.
The European Union and different Western allies, together with Australia, Japan and South Koreas, introduced related sanctions.
OTHER REPERCUSSIONS FOR RUSSIANS
UEFA will now not host the Champions League last in St. Petersburg in Might, an individual with information of the choice instructed The Related Press. The particular person spoke on situation of anonymity to debate non-public talks. A rare assembly of the UEFA govt committee will likely be held Friday.
Valery Gergiev, a conductor who’s near Putin, is not going to lead the Vienna Philharmonic in a five-concert U.S. tour that begins at Carnegie Corridor on Friday. Milan’s Teatro alla Scala despatched a letter to Gergiev asking him to make a transparent assertion in favor of a peaceable decision within the Ukraine, or he wouldn’t be permitted to return for his subsequent scheduled efficiency on March 5.
PROTESTS IN RUSSIA
Russians shocked by the invasion turned out by the hundreds for avenue protests in Moscow and different cities. They signed open letters and on-line petitions demanding the Kremlin halt the assault. One petition garnered 330,000 signatures by the tip of the day.
The crackdown was swift. Some 1,745 folks in 54 Russian cities had been detained, a minimum of 957 of them in Moscow.
State tv was all in for the invasion, with one host calling it an effort to guard folks in jap Ukraine from a “Nazi regime.”
EU BEEFS UP PEACEKEEPING FORCE IN BOSNIA
The European Union-led peacekeeping drive in Bosnia introduced that it will double the variety of its floor troops to forestall ripple results from the battle in Ukraine.
The drive described the step as a precautionary transfer. “The deterioration of the safety state of affairs internationally has the potential to unfold instability” to the ethnically divided Balkan nation, it mentioned.
A staunchly pro-Russian Bosnian Serb chief, Milorad Dodik, has for years advocated the separation of the semi-autonomous Bosnian Serb mini-state from the remainder of the nation.
Final winter, with tacit help from Moscow, Dodik intensified his secessionist marketing campaign, pledging to type an completely Serb military, judiciary and tax system.
The EU drive introduced that 4 corporations of its reserve forces from Austria, Bulgaria, Romania and Slovakia would deploy to Bosnia over the subsequent two weeks to bolster its 600-strong contingent already stationed within the nation. The brand new deployments will complete 500 troops.
NATO’S EASTERN FLANK
The international locations on NATO’s jap flank, all beneath Soviet domination throughout the Chilly Battle, are particularly nervous.
The Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia questioned in the event that they may very well be the Kremlin’s subsequent goal. All of them have acquired the primary batches of U.S. navy troops and gear as promised this week by Biden.
Poles had been additionally shaken.
The parliament in Poland, which borders each Ukraine and Belarus, strongly denounced Russia’s assault on Ukraine and vowed its help to Ukraine.
U.S. Ambassador Mark Brzezinski sought to guarantee Poland that it’s secure. He famous there are actually 10,000 U.S. troopers in Poland. Greater than half had been deployed in current weeks in response to the Russian threats.
Stoltenberg mentioned: “Make no mistake: We’ll defend each ally in opposition to any assault on each inch of NATO territory.” CHINA’S SUPPORT FOR RUSSIA
China’s customs company on Thursday authorised imports of wheat from all areas of Russia, a transfer that might assist to scale back the influence of attainable Western sanctions.
China’s market is a development space for different suppliers, however Beijing had barred imports till now from Russia’s important wheat-growing areas on account of concern about attainable fungus and different contamination.
Russia is likely one of the greatest wheat producers, however its exports could be susceptible if its international markets blocked shipments in response to its assault on Ukraine.
Thursday’s announcement mentioned Russia would “take all measures” to forestall contamination by wheat smut fungus and would droop exports to China if it was discovered.
UKRAINE SEES MORE CYBERATTACKS
The web sites of Ukraine’s protection, international and inside ministries had been unreachable or painfully gradual to load Thursday morning after a punishing wave of distributed-denial-of-service assaults as Russia struck at its neighbor.
Along with DDoS assaults on Wednesday, cybersecurity researchers mentioned unidentified attackers had contaminated tons of of computer systems with harmful malware, some in neighboring Latvia and Lithuania.
Officers had lengthy anticipated cyberattacks to precede and accompany any Russian navy incursion.
The Ukrainian navy fought again on a number of fronts. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy mentioned in a video tackle early Friday that 137 folks, each servicemen and civilians, have been killed and tons of extra wounded.
A senior U.S. protection official mentioned Russia could also be intent on seizing Kyiv, the capital, and different key cities and finally putting in a extra pleasant authorities.
As Ukrainian forces fought again and civilians piled into trains and automobiles to flee, the U.S. and European leaders rushed to punish Russia with robust monetary sanctions. NATO moved to strengthen its jap flank.
Listed here are the issues to know in regards to the battle over Ukraine and the safety disaster in Japanese Europe: PUTIN MAKES HIS MOVE
In a televised tackle because the assault started, Russian President Vladimir Putin mentioned it was wanted to guard civilians in jap Ukraine, the place Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed separatists have been preventing for nearly eight years.
The U.S. had predicted Putin would falsely declare that the rebel-held areas had been beneath assault to justify an invasion.
The Russian chief warned different international locations that any try to intrude in Ukraine would “result in penalties you could have by no means seen in historical past” — a darkish menace implying Russia was ready to make use of its nuclear weapons.
Putin accused the U.S. and its allies of ignoring Russia’s calls for to dam Ukraine from ever becoming a member of NATO and provide Moscow safety ensures.
Putin mentioned Russia doesn’t intend to occupy Ukraine however plans to “demilitarize” it, a euphemism for destroying its armed forces. He urged Ukrainian servicemen to “instantly put down arms and go dwelling.” Quickly after his tackle, explosions had been heard within the cities of Kyiv, Kharkiv and Odesa.
The Russian Protection Ministry mentioned it had destroyed 83 Ukrainian navy amenities.
ZELENSKYY RESPONDS TO THE ATTACK
Ukraine’s president urged residents to stay calm and to remain at dwelling, and pleaded with world leaders to punish Putin with much more extreme sanctions.
He vowed that Ukraine will defend itself and ordered a full navy mobilization. Ukraine’s military stands at 250,000 servicemen with 140,000 reservists. The U.S. mentioned Russia had practically 200,000 troops arrayed close to Ukraine’s borders earlier than the invasion started.
Zelenskyy mentioned he has data that he is the No. 1 goal for the invading Russians however he’s decided to stay in Kyiv.
AN UNEASY NIGHT IN KYIV
By night Thursday, most of the capital’s residents took shelter deep underground in metro stations. Individuals introduced sleeping luggage and blankets, canine and crossword puzzles to cross an uneasy evening within the makeshift bomb shelters.
Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko had known as on town’s 3 million folks to remain indoors except they labored in essential sectors and mentioned everybody ought to put together go-bags with requirements equivalent to drugs and paperwork.
CHERNOBYL IN RUSSIAN HANDS
Ukraine mentioned it misplaced management of the Chernobyl nuclear website after Ukrainian forces waged a fierce battle with Russian troops. A nuclear reactor on the plant 130 kilometers (80 miles) north of Kyiv exploded in April 1986, sending a radioactive cloud throughout Europe. The broken reactor was later lined by a protecting shell.
Alyona Shevtsova, an adviser to the commander of Ukraine’s Floor Forces, wrote on Fb that the employees had been “taken hostage” when Russian troops seized the ability. The White Home press secretary expressed alarm, saying it might hamper efforts to take care of nuclear facility.
THE WEST REACTS
World leaders decried an invasion that might trigger huge casualties, topple Ukraine’s democratically elected authorities and threaten the post-Chilly Battle stability.
NATO Secretary Common Jens Stoltenberg known as Russia’s assault “a brutal act of battle” and mentioned Moscow had shattered peace on the European continent.
U.S. President Joe Biden mentioned Putin “has chosen a premeditated battle that may carry a catastrophic lack of life and human struggling.” The leaders of the Group of Seven known as on the worldwide group “to sentence this assault within the strongest attainable phrases, to face shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine, and lift their voice in opposition to this blatant violation of the basic rules of worldwide peace and safety.” The pinnacle of the U.N. refugee company urged neighboring international locations to maintain their borders open for Ukrainians fleeing the preventing. U.N. Excessive Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi mentioned his company had stepped up its operations and capability in each Ukraine and its neighbors.
WORLD MARKETS FALL
World inventory markets plunged and oil costs soared over considerations that heating payments and meals costs would skyrocket.
Past its human toll, the battle appears to be like set to ship costs spiraling even greater at gasoline pumps and grocery shops around the globe.
Russia and Ukraine are main producers not solely of vitality merchandise but in addition grains and varied different commodities. Battle might upend world provides, as might sanctions introduced by america and different allies.
WHAT SANCTIONS ARE WESTERN POWERS IMPOSING?
In asserting a brand new spherical of sanctions on Thursday, Biden mentioned the U.S. and its allies will block the belongings of 4 massive Russian banks, impose export controls and sanction oligarchs.
The penalties fall consistent with the White Home’s insistence that it will look to hit Russia’s monetary system and Putin’s internal circle, whereas additionally imposing export controls that will goal to starve Russia’s industries and navy of U.S. semiconductors and different high-tech merchandise.
New U.S. sanctions additionally focused the navy and monetary establishments of Belarus, which Russia is utilizing as a staging floor for its troops shifting into Ukraine from the north.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson mentioned he would goal to chop Russia off from the U.Okay.’s monetary market.
The sanctions embrace freezing the belongings of all main Russian banks, together with VTB Financial institution, its second-biggest. Britain additionally plans to bar Russian corporations and the Russian authorities from elevating cash on U.Okay. markets.
Britain will ban the export of a variety of high-tech merchandise, together with semiconductors, to Russia and bar its flagship airline, Aeroflot, from touchdown at U.Okay. airports.
The European Union and different Western allies, together with Australia, Japan and South Koreas, introduced related sanctions.
OTHER REPERCUSSIONS FOR RUSSIANS
UEFA will now not host the Champions League last in St. Petersburg in Might, an individual with information of the choice instructed The Related Press. The particular person spoke on situation of anonymity to debate non-public talks. A rare assembly of the UEFA govt committee will likely be held Friday.
Valery Gergiev, a conductor who’s near Putin, is not going to lead the Vienna Philharmonic in a five-concert U.S. tour that begins at Carnegie Corridor on Friday. Milan’s Teatro alla Scala despatched a letter to Gergiev asking him to make a transparent assertion in favor of a peaceable decision within the Ukraine, or he wouldn’t be permitted to return for his subsequent scheduled efficiency on March 5.
PROTESTS IN RUSSIA
Russians shocked by the invasion turned out by the hundreds for avenue protests in Moscow and different cities. They signed open letters and on-line petitions demanding the Kremlin halt the assault. One petition garnered 330,000 signatures by the tip of the day.
The crackdown was swift. Some 1,745 folks in 54 Russian cities had been detained, a minimum of 957 of them in Moscow.
State tv was all in for the invasion, with one host calling it an effort to guard folks in jap Ukraine from a “Nazi regime.”
EU BEEFS UP PEACEKEEPING FORCE IN BOSNIA
The European Union-led peacekeeping drive in Bosnia introduced that it will double the variety of its floor troops to forestall ripple results from the battle in Ukraine.
The drive described the step as a precautionary transfer. “The deterioration of the safety state of affairs internationally has the potential to unfold instability” to the ethnically divided Balkan nation, it mentioned.
A staunchly pro-Russian Bosnian Serb chief, Milorad Dodik, has for years advocated the separation of the semi-autonomous Bosnian Serb mini-state from the remainder of the nation.
Final winter, with tacit help from Moscow, Dodik intensified his secessionist marketing campaign, pledging to type an completely Serb military, judiciary and tax system.
The EU drive introduced that 4 corporations of its reserve forces from Austria, Bulgaria, Romania and Slovakia would deploy to Bosnia over the subsequent two weeks to bolster its 600-strong contingent already stationed within the nation. The brand new deployments will complete 500 troops.
NATO’S EASTERN FLANK
The international locations on NATO’s jap flank, all beneath Soviet domination throughout the Chilly Battle, are particularly nervous.
The Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia questioned in the event that they may very well be the Kremlin’s subsequent goal. All of them have acquired the primary batches of U.S. navy troops and gear as promised this week by Biden.
Poles had been additionally shaken.
The parliament in Poland, which borders each Ukraine and Belarus, strongly denounced Russia’s assault on Ukraine and vowed its help to Ukraine.
U.S. Ambassador Mark Brzezinski sought to guarantee Poland that it’s secure. He famous there are actually 10,000 U.S. troopers in Poland. Greater than half had been deployed in current weeks in response to the Russian threats.
Stoltenberg mentioned: “Make no mistake: We’ll defend each ally in opposition to any assault on each inch of NATO territory.” CHINA’S SUPPORT FOR RUSSIA
China’s customs company on Thursday authorised imports of wheat from all areas of Russia, a transfer that might assist to scale back the influence of attainable Western sanctions.
China’s market is a development space for different suppliers, however Beijing had barred imports till now from Russia’s important wheat-growing areas on account of concern about attainable fungus and different contamination.
Russia is likely one of the greatest wheat producers, however its exports could be susceptible if its international markets blocked shipments in response to its assault on Ukraine.
Thursday’s announcement mentioned Russia would “take all measures” to forestall contamination by wheat smut fungus and would droop exports to China if it was discovered.
UKRAINE SEES MORE CYBERATTACKS
The web sites of Ukraine’s protection, international and inside ministries had been unreachable or painfully gradual to load Thursday morning after a punishing wave of distributed-denial-of-service assaults as Russia struck at its neighbor.
Along with DDoS assaults on Wednesday, cybersecurity researchers mentioned unidentified attackers had contaminated tons of of computer systems with harmful malware, some in neighboring Latvia and Lithuania.
Officers had lengthy anticipated cyberattacks to precede and accompany any Russian navy incursion.
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