Updates on Russia-Ukraine Conflict
Russia has launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, sparking fierce condemnation and swift action from NATO member nations. As dawn broke over the nation on Thursday Feb.24, Russian forces began targeting military and strategic areas, including the shelling of the cities of Kharkiv, Odessa and the capital, Kyiv.
According to AP, President Vladimir V. Putin delivered a speech just before dawn on Thursday Feb. 24 where he claimed that the U.S. and NATO were ignoring Russian requests to keep Ukraine from joining NATO. Putin asserted that he has no plans to occupy Ukraine, but he urges Ukrainian servicemen to put down their weapons and return home. This was when AP noticed explosions beginning in Odessa and Kharkiv.
Airstrikes have occurred in several areas with bombing occurring in both the east and the west of the country. Some of the most intense fighting has happened just outside Kharaviv in the northeast section of Ukraine. Air bases have been attacked with the Chuhuiv Airbase being struck with many more being targeted by short-range ballistic missiles. Video footage of Russian military vehicles shows them heading towards Ukraine by border crossings in Crimea.
Russian forces have also occupied the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear power plant, according to the State Agency of Ukraine on Exclusion Zone Management spokesperson Yevgeniya Kuznetsovа. The Ukrainian National Guard attempted to defend the plant, but Russians were able to overcome their forces and occupy the plant, according to CNN.
U.S. President Joe Biden delivered a speech from the White House at 1:30 p.m. EST on Thursday where he delivered new, scathing sanctions on Russia including further sanctions on banks and elites in the country. These measures include sanctions on four Russian banks, including Sberbank and VTB, which are the two largest in the country. Biden also announced that American troops will not be deployed to Ukraine, but that he will send troops to Germany and Poland to protect the NATO eastern area, according to NPR.
As for the civilians in Ukraine, evacuations have begun. Many are heading west to Poland where U.S. troops are prepared to take in refugees fleeing their homes in Ukraine. Estimates put the refugee total at 5 million according to American officials.
Ukraine has been placed under martial law, and weapons will be given to all civilians who wish to arm themselves. As of Feb. 24, about 10 civilians in Ukraine have been killed, and soldiers from both Ukraine and Russia have been killed as well, according to the BBC.
International condemnation of the attacks on Ukraine have come from several nations, and this situation is bound to ebb and flow in the days and weeks to come.
Ukrainians fleeing the country after Russian attacks. Source: Desmond Kavanagh, Flikr (CC BY-ND 2.0)