Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has begun. At Italian 4 a.m. President Putin ordered the attack. Putin said his goal is to “demilitarise but not occupy Ukraine”, adding that he intends to “denazify the country”. He also issued a warning to the world: “Anyone who tries to interfere or threaten us must know that Russia’s response will be immediate and will lead to consequences never experienced in history”.
The Russian operation is underway in several cities in Ukraine and aims to “destroy the Ukrainian state, seize its territory by force and establish an occupation”, the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs denounced in a statement.
NATO “strongly condemns” the attack and calls on Moscow “to immediately stop its military action”. European leaders, including Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, also condemned the attack and announced new heavy sanctions against Moscow.