Dmytro Kuleba, minister of foreign affairs of Ukraine, pleaded with the world during the early morning hours on Thursday to take urgent action as Russian military forces launched attacks against his country as part of a full-scale invasion.
“Putin has just launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Peaceful Ukrainian cities are under strikes,” Kuleba said. “This is a war of aggression. Ukraine will defend itself and will win. The world can and must stop Putin. The time to act is now.”
Kuleba said that the future of Europe and the world was at stake and that other nations must act immediately and accomplish the following five items:
- Devastating sanctions on Russia NOW, including SWIFT
- Fully isolate Russia by all means, in all formats
- Weapons, equipment for Ukraine
- Financial assistance
- Humanitarian assistance
“To Ukrainians around the globe: Putin attacked, but no one is running away,” he later added. “Army, diplomats, everyone is working. Ukraine fights. Ukraine will defend itself. Ukraine will win. Share the truth about Putin’s invasion in your countries and call on governments to act immediately.”
Russia launched a full-scale invasion on Ukraine during the early morning hours on Thursday at approximately the same time that Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that a “special military operation” was underway. Putin told Ukrainian soldiers to give up and go home while threatening the U.S. and NATO that if they intervene “Russia will respond immediately, and you will have consequences that you never have had before in your history.”
The initial wave of Russian attacks against Ukraine targeted military and government facilities, airfields, and installations along the border and large explosions were seen in videos posted on social media. Ukraine said that Belarus, which is aligned with Putin, assisted Russia in attacking Ukraine. A senior Ukrainian official told The Wall Street Journal that hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers died in the initial volley of attacks. That number is likely to quickly rise as Russian ground forces entered Ukraine and Russia has launched attacks against targets in multiple cities, including Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odessa, Ivano-Frankivsk, Mariupol, and others. President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that he was imposing martial law “across the entire territory of our state.”
Oil prices skyrocketed to more than $100 per barrel, Dow futures plummeted 800 points, and Bitcoin lost as much as 8.6% of its value following the invasion. A top Russian official responded to relatively weak sanctions from Democrat President Joe Biden against Russia by effectively saying that Americans would feel the repercussions of the sanctions because Russia would raise the cost of gas. “There is no doubt that the sanctions introduced against us will hit global financial and energy markets,” the official said. “The United States will not be left out, with its ordinary citizens feeling the consequences of the price increase in full.”
Leaders from around the world issued statements condemning Putin for launching the attack while Ukraine pleaded for help at the United Nations. Kuleba told the United Nations General Assembly, “We urge member states to use all available means to protect Ukraine and deter Russia.” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the organization will “meet to address the consequences of Russia’s aggressive actions” and that NATO would “do all it takes to protect and defend all Allies.”