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Ukrainian forces battled Russian invaders on three sides after Moscow mounted an assault by land, sea and air in the biggest attack on a European state since World War Two.

After Russian President Vladimir Putin declared war in a pre-dawn televised address on Thursday, explosions and gunfire were heard throughout the morning in Kyiv, a city of three million people.

Missiles rained down on Ukrainian targets and authorities reported columns of troops pouring across Ukraine's borders from Russia and Belarus to the north and east, and landing on the southern coasts from the Black Sea and Azov Sea.

The assault brought a calamitous end to weeks of fruitless diplomatic efforts by Western leaders to avert war.

After a day of fighting, Putin told business people in Moscow he had no choice but to act, while Western leaders condemned the Russian leader and promised sweeping economic sanctions.

"This hideous and barbarous venture of Vladimir Putin must end in failure," British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told parliament, announcing measures targeting banks, members of Putin's closest circle and super-rich Russians who enjoy high-rolling London lifestyles.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on Ukrainians to defend their country and said arms would be given to anyone prepared to fight.

"What we have heard today are not just missile blasts, fighting and the rumble of aircraft. This is the sound of a new Iron Curtain, which has come down and is closing Russia off from the civilised world," Zelenskiy said.

As night fell, the picture of what was happening on the ground was sketchy.

Russia's defence ministry said it had destroyed 83 land-based Ukrainian targets and had achieved all its goals, according to Interfax news agency.

An adviser to the Ukrainian presidential office said Russian forces had captured the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, just 90 kilometres north of the capital, and Hostomel airport in the Kyiv region, where paratroopers had earlier been landed.

Fierce fighting was taking place in the regions of Sumy and Kharkiv in the northeast and Kherson and Odessa in the south.

The highway heading west out of Kyiv was choked with traffic across five lanes as residents fled.

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.

US President Joe Biden called the Russian action an "unprovoked and unjustified attack" and EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said: "These are among the darkest hours of Europe since the Second World War."

EU leaders meeting later will agree to impose further sanctions on Russia with "massive and severe" consequences for Moscow, according to a draft of their summit conclusions, which was seen by Reuters.

The Group of Seven leading industrialised nations also met and the White House said Biden would announce "further consequences the United States and our allies and partners will impose on Russia".

Ukraine's ambassador to the United States said 40 servicemen and dozens of civilians had been reported killed, but the information was not up-to-date.

Authorities in the southwesterly Odessa region said 18 people had been killed in a missile attack. At least six people were killed in Brovary, a town near Kyiv, authorities there said.

Ukraine's military said it had destroyed four Russian tanks near Kharkiv, killed 50 troops near a town in Luhansk region, and downed six Russian warplanes in the east.

Russia denied that any of its aircraft or armoured vehicles had been destroyed. Russian-backed separatists said they had downed two Ukrainian planes.

Even with a full-blown invasion under way, Putin's ultimate aim is obscure. He said he did not plan a military occupation, only to disarm Ukraine and purge it of nationalists.

A senior US defence official said Washington believed the invasion was intended to "decapitate" Zelenskiy's government.

© RAW 2022

President Joe Biden unveiled harsh new sanctions against Russia after Moscow launched an all-out invasion of Ukraine, imposing measures to impede Russia's ability to do business in the world's major currencies along with sanctions against banks and state-owned enterprises.

"This is a premeditated attack," Biden told reporters at the White House on Thursday, saying Russian President Vladimir Putin rejected attempts by the West to engage in dialogue and had violated international law. "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. And he said Washington was prepared to do more.

Biden said the sanctions would limit Russia's ability to do business in dollars, euros, pounds and yen.

Biden said NATO would meet on Friday to map out further measures. He reiterated that the United States would not engage in war with Russia, but that it would meet its Article 5 commitments to defend NATO partners.

Biden said this was a dangerous moment for all of Europe, and that he had authorised troops that had been placed on stand-by to deploy to Germany.

"Putin's aggression against Ukraine will end up costing Russia dearly," Biden said. "Putin will be a pariah on the international stage."

Biden met with his counterparts from the Group of Seven allies earlier on Thursday to map out more severe measures against Russia after Putin launched the attack.

Biden, who spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy late on Wednesday, also convened his National Security Council on Thursday to discuss the situation.

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 United States 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.

Britain unveiled new measures targeting banks, members of Putin's inner circle and the very wealthy who enjoy high-rolling London lifestyles. Prime Minister Boris Johnson told parliament that leaders had agreed to work together to "maximise the economic price" Putin will pay.

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 United States imposed the sanctions in cooperation with Western allies.

Biden had faced political pressure at home to impose sanctions before Putin invaded. The White House has held open the door to diplomacy, even agreeing in principle earlier to a summit between the president and Putin if Russia did not invade.

The president now becomes 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.

The White House has warned Americans that the conflict could lead to higher fuel prices in the United States, though it is taking measures to help soften that blow.

Biden warned oil and gas companies not to "exploit" this moment to raise prices.

© AP 2022

Russian forces have invaded Ukraine by land, air and sea, confirming the worst fears of the West with the biggest attack by one state against another in Europe since World War II.

Russian missiles rained down on Ukrainian cities.

Ukraine reported columns of troops pouring across its borders into the eastern Chernihiv, Kharkiv and Luhansk regions, and landing by sea at the port cities of Odessa and Mariupol in the south.

Explosions could be heard before dawn in the capital Kyiv. Gunfire rattled, sirens blared across the city and the highway out became choked with traffic as residents tried to flee.

Ukraine's President Volodymur Zelenskiy said Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin's aim was to destroy his state.

EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said: "These are among the darkest hours of Europe since the Second World War."

Initial reports of casualties were sporadic and unconfirmed. Ukraine reported at least eight people killed by Russian shelling and three border guards killed in the southern Kherson region.

Ukraine's military said it had destroyed four Russian tanks on a road near Kharkiv, killed 50 troops near a town in Luhansk region and downed six Russian warplanes in the east.

Russia denied reports that its aircraft or armoured vehicles had been destroyed. Russian-backed separatists claimed to have downed two Ukrainian planes.

In a televised declaration of war in the early hours, 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 absurd propaganda.

"And for this we will strive for the demilitarisation and denazification of Ukraine," Putin said.

"Russia cannot feel safe, develop, and exist with a constant threat emanating from the territory of modern Ukraine...All responsibility for bloodshed will be on the conscience of the ruling regime in Ukraine."

US President Joe Biden said his prayers were with the people of Ukraine "as they suffer an unprovoked and unjustified attack". He promised tough sanctions in response, and said he would swiftly consult with other world leaders.

The prospect of war and sanctions disrupting energy and commodities markets posed an immediate threat to a global economy barely emerging from the pandemic. Stocks and bond yields plunged, while the dollar and gold rocketed higher. Brent oil surged past $US100/barrel for the first time since 2014.

Ukraine, a democratic country of 44 million people, voted overwhelmingly for independence after the fall of the Soviet Union, and aims 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 creation carved from Russia by its enemies.

Three hours after Putin gave his order, Russia's defence ministry said it had taken out military infrastructure at Ukrainian air bases and degraded its air defences.

Earlier, Ukrainian media reported that military command centres in Kyiv and Kharkiv in the northeast had been struck by missiles, while Russian troops had landed in the southern port cities of Odessa and Mariupol.

Queues of people waited to withdraw money and buy supplies of food and water in Kyiv. Traffic was jammed going west out of the city of three million people, towards the distant Polish border. Western countries have been preparing for the likelihood of hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians fleeing an assault.

Biden said Putin had chosen a premeditated war that would bring a catastrophic loss of life and human suffering.

"Russia alone is responsible for the death and destruction this attack will bring, and the United States and its Allies and partners will respond in a united and decisive way," said Biden, who spoke to Zelenskiy by telephone.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said NATO allies would meet to tackle the consequences of Russia's "reckless and unprovoked attack".

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Putin had chosen "the path of bloodshed and destruction".

China, which signed a friendship treaty with Russia three weeks ago, reiterated a call for all parties to exercise restraint and rejected a description of Russia's action as an invasion.

© RAW 2022