assault on Ukraine that opened with air and missile strikes on Ukrainian military facilities and included ground troops invading from Crimea.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said 137 "heroes" including 10 military officers had been killed and another 316 wounded.
Ukraine’s leadership called it a "full-scale war" targeting the country from the east, north and south. Ukraine said Russia’s intent was to destroy the state of Ukraine, a Western-looking democracy intent on escaping Moscow’s orbit.As Ukrainian forces fought back and civilians piled into trains and cars to flee, the U.S.
and European leaders rushed to respond, if not directly in Ukraine, with strong financial sanctions to punish Russia. NATO moved to strengthen its eastern flank.In a televised address as the attack began, Russian President Vladimir Putin said it was needed to protect civilians in eastern Ukraine, where Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed separatists have been fighting for almost eight years.The U.S.
had predicted Putin would falsely claim that the rebel-held regions were under attack to justify an invasion.The Russian leader warned other countries that any attempt to interfere in Ukraine would "lead to consequences you have never seen in history" — a dark threat implying Russia was prepared to use its nuclear weapons.Putin accused the U.S.