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Explosions have been heard in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv as Russian forces press on with a full-scale invasion that resulted in the deaths of more than 100 Ukrainians in the first full day of fighting.
After using airstrikes on cities and military bases, Russian military units moved swiftly to take on Ukraine's seat of government and its largest city in what US officials suspect is a brazen attempt by Russian President Vladimir Putin to dismantle the government and replace it with his own regime.
Ukrainian leaders pleaded for help as civilians piled into trains and cars to flee, and thousands took shelter in the Kyiv's subways.
Ukrainian forces braced for more attacks after enduring a Russian barrage of land- and sea-based missiles.
Ukraine officials said they had lost control of the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear power plant, scene of the world's worst nuclear disaster.
Alyona Shevtsova, adviser to the commander of Ukraine's ground forces, wrote on Facebook that staff members at the Chernobyl plant had been "taken hostage." The White House said it was "outraged" by reports of the detentions.
In unleashing the largest ground war in Europe since World War II, Putin ignored global condemnation and cascading new sanctions. With a chilling reference to his country's nuclear arsenal, he threatened any country trying to interfere with "consequences you have never seen," as a once-hoped for diplomatic resolution now appeared impossible.
"Russia has embarked on a path of evil, but Ukraine is defending itself and won't give up its freedom," Zelenskyy tweeted. He pleaded for more severe sanctions than those imposed so far by Western allies and ordered a full military mobilisation that would last 90 days.
Zelenskyy said in a video address that 137 "heroes," including 10 military officers, had been killed and 316 people wounded. The dead included all border guards on the Zmiinyi Island in the Odesa region, which was taken over by Russians.
He appealed to global leaders, saying that "if you don't help us now, if you fail to offer a powerful assistance to Ukraine, tomorrow the war will knock on your door."
US President Joe Biden announced a series of new sanctions against Russia, saying Putin "chose this war".
The US sanctions will target Russian banks, oligarchs, state-controlled companies and high-tech sectors, Biden said, but they were designed not to disrupt global energy markets. Russian oil and natural gas exports are vital energy sources for Europe.
Biden also said the US was deploying additional forces to Germany to bolster NATO.
The chief of the NATO alliance, Jens Stoltenberg, said Russia's "brutal act of war" shattered peace in Europe, joining a chorus of world leaders decrying the attack.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he aimed to cut off Russia from the UK's financial markets as he announced sanctions, freezing the assets of all large Russian banks and planning to bar Russian companies and the Kremlin from raising money on British markets.
"Now we see him for what he is -- a bloodstained aggressor who believes in imperial conquest," Johnson said of Putin.
Zelenskyy urged the US and West to go further and cut the Russians from the SWIFT system, a key financial network that connects thousands of banks around the world. The White House has been reluctant to immediately cut Russia from SWIFT, worried it could cause enormous economic problems in Europe and elsewhere in the West.
Russia and Ukraine made competing claims about damage they had inflicted. Russia's Defence Ministry said it had destroyed scores of Ukrainian air bases, military facilities and drones. It confirmed the loss of one of its Su-25 attack jets, blaming "pilot error," and said an An-26 transport plane had crashed because of technical failure, killing the entire crew. It did not say how many were aboard.
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Russia has ignored global condemnation to launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, unleashing air strikes on cities and military bases in an attack that could rewrite the post-Cold War security order.
Ukraine's government pleaded for help as civilians piled into trains and cars to flee. Thousands of people went deep underground as night fell, jamming Kyiv's subway stations.
Scores of Ukrainians, civilians and service members alike, were killed in the first full day of fighting.
"Russia has embarked on a path of evil, but Ukraine is defending itself and won't give up its freedom," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy tweeted.
Zelenskyy said in a video address that 137 "heroes," including 10 military officers, had been killed and 316 people wounded. The dead included all border guards on the Zmiinyi Island in the Odesa region, which was taken over by Russians.
He concluded an emotional speech by saying that "the fate of the country depends fully on our army, security forces, all of our defenders."
Russian President Vladimir Putin ignored cascading new sanctions as he unleashed the largest ground war in Europe since World War II and chillingly referred to his country's nuclear arsenal. He threatened any country trying to interfere with "consequences you have never seen".
Ukrainian forces braced for more attacks after enduring a Russian barrage of land- and sea-based missiles, an assault that one senior US defence official said was aimed at seizing key population centres and "decapitating" Ukraine's government.
US President Joe Biden announced new sanctions against Russia, saying Putin "chose this war" and had exhibited a "sinister" view of the world in which nations take what they want by force. Other nations have taken similar measures.
Zelenskyy, who had earlier cut diplomatic ties with Moscow and declared martial law, appealed to global leaders, saying that "if you don't help us now, if you fail to offer a powerful assistance to Ukraine, tomorrow the war will knock on your door."
Hours after the invasion began, Russian forces seized control of the now-unused Chernobyl nuclear plant and its surrounding exclusion zone after a fierce battle.
Alyona Shevtsova, adviser to the commander of Ukraine's ground forces, wrote on Facebook that staff members at the Chernobyl plant had been "taken hostage." The White House said it was "outraged" by reports of the detentions.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defence issued an update saying that though the plant was "likely captured," the country's forces had halted Russia's advance toward Chernihiv and that it was unlikely that Russia had achieved its planned Day One military objectives.
The chief of the NATO alliance, Jens Stoltenberg, said the "brutal act of war" shattered peace in Europe, joining a chorus of world leaders decrying an attack that could cause massive casualties and topple Ukraine's democratically elected government. The conflict shook global financial markets: Stocks plunged and oil prices soared amid concerns that heating bills and food prices would skyrocket.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he aimed to cut off Russia from the UK's financial markets as he announced sanctions, freezing the assets of all large Russian banks and planning to bar Russian companies and the Kremlin from raising money on British markets.
"Now we see him for what he is -- a bloodstained aggressor who believes in imperial conquest," Johnson said of Putin.
Zelenskyy urged the US and West to go further and cut the Russians from the SWIFT system, a key financial network that connects thousands of banks around the world. The White House has been reluctant to immediately cut Russia from SWIFT, worried it could cause enormous economic problems in Europe and elsewhere in the West.
Putin justified his actions in an overnight televised address, asserting the attack was needed to protect civilians in eastern Ukraine -- a false claim the US predicted he would make as a pretext for invasion.
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President Joe Biden hit Russia with a wave of sanctions after Moscow invaded Ukraine, measures that impede Russia's ability to do business in major currencies along with sanctions against banks and state-owned enterprises.
Biden described Russian President Vladimir Putin as an aggressor with a "sinister vision of the world" and a misguided dream of recreating the Soviet Union.
But he held back from imposing sanctions on Putin himself and from disconnecting Russia from the SWIFT international banking system, amid differences with Western allies over how far to go at this juncture and criticism from Republicans that he should have done more.
Ukrainian forces battled Russian invaders on three sides on Thursday, prompting tens of thousands of people to flee their homes.
"This is a premeditated attack," Biden told reporters at the White House. "Putin is the aggressor. Putin chose this war. And now he and his country will bear the consequences."
Biden said the sanctions were designed to have a long-term impact on Russia and to minimise the impact on the United States and its allies, adding Washington was prepared to do more.
The sanctions are aimed at limiting Russia's ability to do business in dollars, euros, pounds and yen.
Among the targets were five major banks, including state-backed Sberbank and VTB, as well as members of the Russian elite and their families. Sberbank, Russia's largest lender, will no longer be able to transfer money with the assistance of US banks.
The White House also announced export restrictions aimed at curbing Russia's access to everything from commercial electronics and computers to semiconductors and aircraft parts.
NATO alliance countries are meeting on Friday to map out further measures, as Biden reiterated that the US would not engage in war with Russia.
But he said the US would meet its Article 5 commitments, in which NATO members agree an armed attack against one of them in Europe or North America will be considered an attack against them all.
Since Ukraine is not a NATO member, those protections do not apply.
Biden said this was "a dangerous moment for all of Europe," and that he had authorised troops that had been placed on standby to deploy to Germany.
He declined to comment on whether he would urge China to join the West's drive to isolate Russia.
Biden met with his counterparts from the Group of Seven allies and his National Security Council on Thursday, after speaking with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy late on Wednesday.
His announcement represented the second major tranche of sanctions against Russia since Putin earlier this week declared two breakaway regions of Ukraine independent and sent troops there.
The US had warned it would initiate waves of sanctions against Moscow if it further invaded Ukraine, and Russia's full-on military assault launched on Thursday led to the latest round of Western penalties.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki later told reporters the Biden administration believes Putin has "grander ambitions than Ukraine" without offering further details.
On Wednesday, Washington imposed sanctions on the company in charge of building Russia's Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, and on Tuesday it sanctioned two large Russian financial institutions and Russian sovereign debt along with some members of the Russian elite and their family members.
The moves are aimed at pushing up inflation and interest rates in Russia, lowering purchasing power, investment, growth and living standards, White House economic adviser Daleep Singh said on Thursday.
Biden has become the face of the Western response to Russian aggression at a time when he is battling low poll numbers at home, rising inflation that could be exacerbated by the Ukraine conflict, and looming midterm elections that could hand control of the Senate and House of Representatives from his fellow Democrats to Republicans.
Biden warned oil and gas companies not to "exploit" this moment to raise prices.
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Ukrainian forces have battled Russian invaders on three sides after Moscow unleashed the biggest attack on a European state since World War II, prompting tens of thousands of people to flee their homes.
After Russian President Vladimir Putin declared war in a pre-dawn televised address, explosions and gunfire were heard through the day in Ukraine's capital and elsewhere in the country, with at least 70 people reported killed.
The assault brought a calamitous end to weeks of fruitless diplomatic efforts by Western leaders to avert war over Russian.
"This is a premeditated attack," US President Joe Biden said at the White House on Thursday as he unveiled harsh new sanctions, co-ordinated with allies, against Russian banks, oligarchs and state companies.
"Putin is the aggressor. Putin chose this war. And now he and his country will bear the consequences."
In his address, Putin said he had ordered "a special military operation" to protect people, including Russian citizens, subjected to "genocide" in Ukraine - an accusation the West calls baseless propaganda.
"And for this we will strive for the demilitarisation and denazification of Ukraine," Putin said.
After nightfall, a picture emerged of fierce fighting across multiple fronts. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy late on Thursday ordered a general mobilisation, to be carried out within 90 days, "to ensure the defence of the state".
The Ukrainian presidential office said Russian forces had captured the Chernobyl former nuclear power plant, north of Kyiv. The plant is along the shortest route from the Ukrainian capital to Belarus, where Moscow has staged troops.
There was also fighting at Hostomel airport, just outside Kyiv, where Russian paratroopers landed. A Ukrainian official later said the airfield had been recaptured, while a senior US defence official said Russian forces were advancing closer to Kyiv.
Heavy exchanges were also reported in the regions of Sumy and Kharkiv in the northeast and Kherson in the south.
The UN refugee agency said an estimated 100,000 Ukrainians had fled their homes. Thousands were crossing into neighbouring countries such as Romania, Moldova, Poland and Hungary.
Some 57 people were killed and 169 were wounded on Thursday, Ukraine's health minister said, while the interior ministry said 13 border guards died when a Russian vessel shelled Ukraine's Zmiinyi Island, south of the Black Sea port of Odessa.
The day began with missiles raining down on targets across Ukraine and reports of troops and armour pouring across the borders from Russia and Belarus.
Putin, after referring earlier in his speech to Russia's powerful nuclear arsenal, warned: "Whoever tries to hinder us ... should know that Russia's response will be immediate. And it will lead you to such consequences that you have never encountered in your history."
Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said the threat was indeed understood as a use of nuclear weapons, adding Putin should also understand that NATO was a nuclear alliance.
Biden has ruled out sending US troops to defend Ukraine, but Washington has reinforced its NATO allies in the region with extra troops and planes.
After consulting with the G7, Biden announced measures to impede Russia's ability to do business in the world's major currencies, along with sanctions against banks and state-owned enterprises.
Britain also targeted banks, as well as members of Putin's inner circle. European Union leaders said measures would include freezing Russian assets.
China, however, refused to describe Russia's actions as an "invasion".
Putin said he did not plan an occupation, only to disarm Ukraine and purge it of nationalists, and his endgame remains unclear.
A democratic nation of 44 million people, Ukraine voted for independence at the fall of the Soviet Union and has stepped up efforts to join NATO and the European Union, aspirations that infuriate Moscow.
Putin, who denied for months that he was planning an invasion, has called Ukraine an artificial construct - a characterisation Ukrainians see as an attempt to erase their more than 1000-year history.
There was also some dissent in Russia. Police detained more than 1600 taking part in anti-war rallies in 53 cities and authorities threatened to block media reports carrying "false information".
Other protests against Russia's invasion were held around the world.
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