Under the direction of President Vladimir Putin, Russia has launched an unprecedented attack on its western neighbour
As of Feb. 24, Russia has begun an invasion of Ukraine.
Military convoys are pushing into the country along its northern, eastern, and southern borders, and Russia has launched missile strikes at local army and air defense bases, as well as border guards, in an effort to weaken Ukraine’s military infrastructure.
On Thursday morning, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced in a televised address to the nation that a “military operation” was beginning in Ukraine’s easternmost Donbas region.
This area has been a zone of conflict between the Ukrainian government and Russian-backed rebels for several years now. It is occupied by many Russian-speaking Ukrainians and is a hotbed of separatist activities. Parts of the region have been under the control of these Russian-supported militias since 2014.
However, it appears that the fighting may not be limited to the Donbas region. Civilians and media correspondents in the capital city of Kyiv and the southern port city of Odessa reported hearing blasts overnight. Furthermore, a Ukrainian official has claimed that Russian troops have landed in Odessa. Both cities are far removed from the eastern Donbas region that Russia claims to be targeting in its operation.
In his announcement, Putin claimed that the operation was an act of self-defense. He said that Russia did not intend to occupy Ukraine, but that it wanted to demilitarize and “de-Nazify” its western neighbour.
The Russian media has been pushing the narrative that Ukraine aligns itself with Nazism for several months now as part of an ongoing disinformation campaign.
Putin urged Ukrainian soldiers to lay down their weapons and leave the combat zone peacefully, though he noted that armed clashes would be inevitable in the coming days. He also made it clear to outside powers that any attempts to interfere with the Russian invasion would be met with devastating “consequences you have never seen.”
As of Thursday afternoon, Ukraine reports that about 40 soldiers and 10 civilians have been killed during the first hours of the invasion. In addition there are several dozen people who have been wounded.
As danger mounts, thousands of Ukrainian residents are fleeing west to avoid being caught in air strikes or being called to fight. The United Nations refugee agency has urged surrounding European countries to keep their borders open to refugees, and several countries have been making preparations accordingly.
Poland has been particularly proactive, establishing accommodation facilities and even a medical train to transport wounded civilians out of Ukraine and into Polish hospitals. Poland is already home to two million Ukrainians, many of whom came to the country as refugees during the 2014 annexation of Crimea.
Other countries have also been coordinating efforts to minimize the deleterious effects of the invasion. Canada, the United States, and other allies of Ukraine have announced sweeping economic sanctions against Russia in an effort to deter Putin from his current course of action. However, many experts fear that these sanctions will not be enough.
The West has previously placed sanctions on Russia, namely in 2014 when the country illegally annexed the region of Crimea in southern Ukraine. While these sanctions were successful in damaging the Russian economy, they ultimately were not enough to stop Russia from seizing Crimea, which it still retains control over today.
This is a developing story with more information to come.
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