The Latest: Ukrainian officials say more than 40 soldiers have been killed
The latest on the Russia-Ukraine crisis:
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KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia launched a wide-ranging attack on Ukraine on Thursday, hitting cities and bases with airstrikes or shelling, as civilians piled into trains and cars to flee. Ukraine’s government said Russian tanks and troops rolled across the border in a “full-scale war” that could rewrite the geopolitical order and whose fallout already reverberated around the world.
In unleashing Moscow’s most aggressive action since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, President Vladimir Putin deflected global condemnation and cascading new sanctions — and chillingly referred to his country’s nuclear arsenal. He threatened any foreign country attempting to interfere with “consequences you have never seen.”
Sirens wailed in Ukraine’s capital, large explosions were heard there and in other cities, and people massed in train stations and took to roads, as the government said the former Soviet republic was seeing a long-anticipated invasion from the east, north and south. It reported more than 40 soldiers had been killed and dozens wounded so far.
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MOSCOW — The Russian military says it has knocked out Ukraine’s air defense assets and airbases.
The Russian Defense Ministry said the Russian strikes have “suppressed air defense means of the Ukrainian military,” adding that the infrastructure of Ukraine’s military bases has been incapacitated.” It denied the claims that a Russian warplane was shot down over Ukraine.
The Ukrainian military, meanwhile, reported that it has shot down five Russian aircraft while fending off the Russian attack on the country.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that he unleashed an attack on Ukraine in a televised address early Thursday, drawing international condemnation.
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BEIJING — China is advising its people in Ukraine to stay home because of ongoing military actions and chaos but made no mention of Russian forces.
The notice issued on its Kyiv embassy’s social media account Thursday said: “Social order is chaotic and out of control, especially in the cities where at times of serious unrest.”RUSSIA-UKRAINERussia-Ukraine: What to know as explosions boom over UkraineEXPLAINER: A look at toughest US sanctions facing RussiaRussia attacks Ukraine as defiant Putin warns US, NATOEXPLAINER: The story behind Ukraine's separatist regions
It said a person walking on the streets could be a target of attack and traffic could be stopped at any time. It added that people should remain calm and contact local authorities if they come into danger.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the military operation in eastern Ukraine early Thursday.
China has denounced sanctions against Russia, with which it has increasingly aligned its foreign policy to challenge the West, and blamed the U.S. and its allies for provoking Moscow.
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BRUSSELS — The top European Union chiefs said the invasion of Ukraine “will impose massive and severe consequences on Russia” and that more sanction will be in the offing.
The 27-nation bloc already issued sanctions on Russia for its recognition of breakaway republics in Ukraine earlier this week, and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and foreign policy chief Josep Borrell “will outline a further sanctions package.”
The 27 EU leaders will discuss them later Thursday at a summit meeting and they could be imposed soon after.
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KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine’s border guard agency says that the Russian military has attacked the country from neighboring Belarus.
The agency said that the Russian troops unleashed artillery barrage as part of an attack backed by Belarus. They said the Ukrainian border guards were firing back, adding that there was no immediate report of casualties.
Russian troops have deployed to its ally Belarus for military drills, a move that the West saw as a prelude to an invasion of Ukraine. The Ukrainian capital of Kyiv is about 75 kilometers (50 miles) south of the border with Belarus.
BERLIN — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has sharply condemned Russia’s attack on Ukraine calling it “a terrible day for Ukraine and a dark day for Europe.”
The chancellor said Thursday morning that “the Russian attack on Ukraine is a blatant violation of international law. It cannot be justified by anything.”
He added that “Germany condemns this reckless act by President Putin in the strongest possible terms.”
Scholz said in a written statement that “our solidarity is with Ukraine and its people. Russia must stop this military action immediately.”
He added Germany would coordinate closely with others within the framework of the Group of Seven, NATO and the European Union.
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BERLIN — The European Union Aviation Safety Agency is telling air operators of a high risk to civilian aircraft over Ukraine, reminding air operators that “this is now an active conflict zone.”
In the bulletin issued early Thursday, EASA said that “airspace and critical infrastructure, including airports, are exposed to military activities which result in safety risks for civil aircraft. In particular, there is a risk of both intentional targeting and misidentification of civil aircraft.”
It added: “The presence and possible use of a wide range of ground and airborne warfare systems poses a HIGH risk for civil flights operating at all altitudes and flight levels.”
It recommended that, “additionally, as a precautionary measure, operators should exercise extreme caution and avoid using the airspace” within 100 nautical miles of the Belarusian- and Russia-Ukraine border.
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UNITED NATIONS — U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says Russia’s attack on Ukraine — as he appealed for President Vladimir Putin to stop his troops — was “the saddest moment” of his five-year tenure.
The U.N. chief opened the emergency Security Council meeting by urgently appealing to Putin: “In the name of humanity, bring your troops back to Russia.”
But during the meeting, Putin announced early Thursday that he was launching a “special military operation” in eastern Ukraine.
Guterres later urged the Russian president to withdraw his troops and added: “In the name of humanity do not allow to start in Europe what could be the worst war since the beginning of the century, with consequences not only devastating for Ukraine, not only tragic for the Russian Federation, but with an impact we cannot even foresee in relation to the consequences for the global economy.”
“What is clear for me is that this war doesn’t make any sense,” Guterres said, stressing that it violates the U.N. Charter and will cause a level of suffering if it doesn’t stop that Europe hasn’t know since at least the 1990s Balkans crisis.
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BEIJING — Asian stock markets have plunged and oil prices surged after President Vladimir Putin announced Russian military action in Ukraine.
Market benchmarks in Tokyo and Seoul fell 2% and Hong Kong and Sydney lost more than 3% Thursday. Oil prices jumped nearly $3 per barrel on unease about possible disruption of Russian supplies.
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.
Investors already were uneasy about the possible impact of the Federal Reserve’s plans to try to cool inflation by withdrawing ultra-low interest rates and other stimulus that boosted share prices.
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