Russia invaded Ukraine today (Feb. 24) with airstrikes, cyberattacks, and mass troop incursions.
Russian president Vladimir Putin made a televised address before dawn on Thursday, in which he urged Ukrainian armed forces to stand down, and claimed there would be no occupation of Ukraine.
The international response
Putin described the assault as a “special operation” against Ukrainian aggression in the “independent” states of Donetsk and Luhansk—Russia-backed breakaway regions that have not been recognized by the international community.
The US “will be imposing severe sanctions on Russia,” said president Joe Biden, who will deliver a national address on further US actions tonight. He called the attack “unprovoked and unjustified,” and said he’d spoken to Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky.
The EU is also preparing “a package of massive and targeted sanctions,” according to European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, who aims to “weaken Russia’s economic base and its capacity to modernize.”
Meanwhile, global stocks fell, while oil and other commodity prices surged.