Why Putin’s long-feared attack on Ukraine will rock America and the world

CNN – Just as diplomats at a last-minute United Nations Security Council meeting were pleading for peace, Russian fire began raining down on Ukraine.

On a haunting night, marked by an address from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that felt like a eulogy for a democracy, decades of peace between nations on the European landmass ended with loud blasts in multiple Ukrainian cities. Within hours, livestream video showed a column of military vehicles streaming into the country from Belarus, where Russian troops had been massed. And thunderous explosions soon boomed over the capital Kyiv, as air raid sirens wailed, heralding a dangerous new crisis for a world already rocked by turmoil.Biden condemns ‘Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified attack on Ukraine’

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Putin lashes out with ominous threat to Ukrainians and other countries

Before the crack of dawn, just before explosions began in cities across Ukraine, Russian state television unexpectedly broadcast an address by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The two self-proclaimed “people’s republics” of Donetsk and Luhansk, in the breakaway Ukrainian region of Donbas, which he had officially recognized as independent less than two days before, had “turned to Russia with a request for help,” he said. To answer that call he was launching a “special military operation.” Its purpose: to “demilitarize” and “denazifiy” Ukraine.

Within minutes, Russian missiles began hitting targets in Ukraine. “Our actions are self-defense against threats,” he told his fellow Russians, claiming Moscow had no plans to occupy Ukraine. “We do not plan to impose ourselves on anyone,” he insisted.

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Russian attack causes panic in Kyiv as people flee

Long queues of cars form towards exits from Kyiv as people shelter in the city’s underground stations after Russia’s attack.

The sound of explosions on the edge of Ukraine’s capital Kyiv and air sirens set off by a full-scale Russian invasion of the country have prompted the city residents to panic and flee for safety.

On Thursday morning, long queues of cars formed from the city centre towards various exits out of Kyiv and people took cover in the city’s underground stations and other safe places, according to local media.

Continue reading: aljazeera.com