Russia Attacks Ukraine
EU, NATO, and G-7 leaders will gather this morning to discuss further actions as open war comes to Europe for the first time in almost three decades.
In the early hours of Thursday morning the Russian military launched a barrage of cruise and ballistic missiles at several Ukrainian cities, including the capital Kyiv. Initial targets included military command centers, airports, and military depots. Russian troops are now moving toward the eastern city of Kharkiv. Jack Losh reported from the city center this morning as some citizens debated whether to flee while others prepared to fight.
There is still plenty we don’t know, including the scale of the assault, the extent of the ground invasion, and the ensuing displacement and refugee flows. Hundreds of Ukrainian service members are already suspected to have been killed in the first wave of strikes, a Ukrainian Interior Ministry official told the Wall Street Journal.
As my FP colleagues Jack Detsch, Amy Mackinnon, and Robbie Gramer report, the military action was preceded by a jarring split screen moment: As the United Nations Security Council, currently chaired by Russia, debated Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin went live to the world, announcing the Russian invasion was imminent, saying his goal was to “demilitarize and de-Nazify” Ukraine—a country whose president, Volodymyr Zelensky, is Jewish.
In an impassioned speech addressing the Russian public directly in the hours before the invasion, Zelensky said: “They tell you that we’re Nazis. But how can a people that lost eight million lives to defeat the Nazis support Nazism? How can I be a Nazi? Say it to my grandfather, who fought in World War II as a Soviet infantryman and died a colonel in an independent Ukraine.”
By that point, Russian tanks were already rolling. Putin’s address—delivered in the same color suit and tie he wore on Monday— suggested the speech was pre-taped, the invasion now appearing a foregone conclusion as the week began. Indeed, the metadata on the video file posted to the Kremlin’s website carries Monday’s date.
In the face of the initial Russian barrage, Zelensky declared martial law and called for strength from his compatriots in a video message. “We are working. The army is working,” he said. “Don’t panic. We are strong. We are ready for everything. We will defeat everyone.”
As the West considers imposing harsher economic sanctions, Russia has attempted to head off some of the damage. The Moscow stock exchange suspended trading shortly after opening this morning—and later resumed trading—with Russia’s MOEX index dropping by close to 30 percent as the ruble fell approximately 3.5 percent against the dollar as oil prices surged to over $100 for the first time since 2014.
What they said.
“We will defend ourselves. When you attack, you will see our faces, not our backs.”
—Ukrainian President Zelensky in a video address moments before Putin’s invasion announcement aired.
“So,
if indeed an operation is being prepared, I have only one thing to say
from the bottom of my heart: President Putin, stop your troops from
attacking Ukraine. Give peace a chance. Too many people have already
died.”
—U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres remarks to the Security Council.
“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. The world will hold Russia accountable.”
—U.S. President Joe Biden in an overnight statement.
“Russia
must stop this military action right now. We will consult within the
G-7, NATO and the EU in the course of today. It is a terrible day for
Ukraine and a dark day for Europe.”
—German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
“President
Putin has chosen a path of bloodshed and destruction by launching this
unprovoked attack on Ukraine. The UK and our allies will respond
decisively.”
—British Prime Minister Boris Johnson
“There is no purgatory for war criminals. They go straight to hell, ambassador.”
—Ukraine’s U.N. ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya addresses his Russian counterpart Vassily Nebenzia.
Can Ukraine fight? While Ukraine has modernized its military since 2014 (with roughly $2.5 billion in U.S. support) so too has Russia, and the latter’s defense budget is more than ten times larger. As FP reported in December, Ukraine’s air force and defenses are a significant weakness, and have probably been degraded by Russia’s latest strikes.