2022 WORLD WAR! RUSSIA VS. UKRAINE - HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Russia has invaded Ukraine after President Vladimir Putin authorised a military operation in the Eastern European country.
The invasion follows months of Moscow massing troops near Ukraine.
Despite Western states repeatedly expressing fears of just such an outcome, Russia had continued to deny any such plans.
The Kremlin had demanded guarantees from the West that NATO would not accept Ukraine and other former Soviet nations as members, halt weapon deployments there and roll back its forces from Eastern Europe — demands the US and NATO rejected as nonstarters.
Ahead of the invasion, Russia had troops stationed along the border with Ukraine, as well as in Belarus and Crimea. Forces were sent to Donetsk and Luhansk, where pro-Russian separatists have been fighting with Ukraine for control since 2014. (source: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-24/russia-ukraine-military-operation-vladimir-putin/100789878)
What Do We Need To Know About Ukraine?
Separatists seized government buildings in eastern Ukraine in 2014 including the offices of the SBU state security service in Luhansk.(Reuters: Vasily Fedosenko)
What's Happening On The Ground Right Now?
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has confirmed that missile strikes had been carried out on infrastructure and border guards.
Explosions have been heard in the capital Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odessa and other cities across Ukraine.
Mr. Zelenskyy has urged people to stay home as much as possible, but said that the country was ready for anything.
Russian troops have entered the southern port cities of Mariupol and Odesa, as Ukraine's foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba warned a "full-scale invasion" was unfolding.
When announcing the military operation, Mr Putin warned other countries that any attempt to interfere with the Russian action would lead to "consequences you have never seen" and any outside power intervening on Ukraine's behalf would face an "instant" response.
Ukraine's army said Kyiv's Boryspil international airport was among a number of airfields that had been bombed, along with military headquarters and warehouses in the big cities of Kyiv, Dnipro, Kharkiv and Mariupol. Footage verified by the BBC showed missiles slamming into an airport in the western city of Ivano-Frankivsk. Mr Zelensky said Russia had positioned almost 200,000 troops and thousands of combat vehicles on Ukraine's borders.
Other Countries Have Reacted To The Crisis
Baltic Republic of Estonia (which borders Russia): Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said a number of NATO allies that shared borders with Russia had agreed to launch consultations under NATO's Article 4. Under the defensive alliance's treaty, Nato can be brought together if any member fears their independence or territory is under threat.
"Russia's widespread aggression is a threat to the entire world and to all Nato countries," she said.
Lithuania: Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda also said he was signing a state of emergency to be approved by parliament.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres: "President Putin, in the name of humanity, bring your troops back to Russia."
Ukraine's Western allies had repeatedly warned that Russia was poised to invade, despite repeated denials from Moscow. The US, EU, UK and Japan imposed sanctions against leading Russians, Russian banks and MPs who backed the move.
United Kingdom: In a televised address, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that the "hideous and barbaric venture by Vladimir Putin must end in failure". Addressing Russians, he said: "I cannot believe this is being done in your name, or that you really want the pariah status it will bring to the Putin regime." He told Ukrainians that the UK was "on your side".
United States of America: US President Joe Biden said the world would hold Russia accountable. He is expected to address Americans on Thursday about consequences Russia will face.
France: President Emmanuel Macron said the attack would have "deep, lasting consequences for our lives".
European Union: Foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said "these are among the darkest hours for Europe since World War Two".
"The world can and must stop Putin," Mr Kuleba Tweeted.
"The time to act is now."
Why Is Russia Invading Ukraine?
Russian President Vladimir Putin had consistently maintained that Russia had no intention of invading Ukraine, so his motivations remain unclear. He said the goal was demilitarisation and "denazification" of Ukraine. Hours earlier Ukraine's president had asked how a people who lost eight million of its citizens fighting Nazis could support Nazism.
Possible rationales include preventing Ukraine from joining NATO, a personal quest to reunite Soviet countries and regain the USSR's former glory, to increase Mr Putin's domestic influence or to provide guaranteed access to fresh water for the Crimea peninsula.
Alexey Muraviev, an associate professor of National Security and Strategic Studies at Curtin University, told the ABC Mr Putin wanted to use Ukraine as a "neutral buffer zone" against NATO.
"Ukraine has just become an area of proxy conflict between Russia and the United States," he said.
What Will Happen Now?
Because Ukraine is not a member of NATO, Ukraine is expected to be on its own in terms of fighting forces.
The US and NATO have all made clear they will not get involved in fighting on the ground.
"There is not going to be any American forces moving into Ukraine," Mr. Biden told reporters in January.
Asked by some reporters if there was any scenario in which British troops would be deployed to Ukraine, UK Foreign Minister Liz Truss said: "That is very unlikely. This is about making sure that the Ukrainian forces have all the support we can give them."
Still, US President Biden has said that if Russia invades the US and its allies would impose the "most severe sanctions that have ever been imposed".
The Nord Stream 2 project was cancelled this week after Moscow officially recognised the two separatist regions in Ukraine's east, and the US imposed sanctions on the company in charge of the natural gas pipeline.
A White House official has said that President Biden will announce further consequences against Russia tomorrow, US local time.
Ukraine: What To Do Next?
The Ukrainian military says it won't stand a chance against the Russians without significant military support from the West.
"There are not sufficient military resources for repelling a full-scale attack by Russia if it begins without the support of Western forces," the head of Ukraine's military intelligence service told to a news paper reporter.
However, former Ukrainian Minister of Defense Andriy Zagorodnyuk last month wrote that Russian forces would face a combined Ukrainian military of around 500,000 personnel, including reserves.
"Russian occupation forces will face highly motivated opponents fighting in familiar surroundings," he said.
"By combining serving military units with combat veterans, reservists, territorial defence units, and large numbers of volunteers, Ukraine can create tens of thousands of small and highly mobile groups capable of attacking Russian forces.
"This will make it virtually impossible for the Kremlin to establish any kind of administration over occupied areas or secure its lines of supply.
"The readiness of Ukrainians to defend their country should not be any doubt."
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