Russia invades Ukraine is the Failure of NATO?
On Thursday, Russian forces have invaded Ukraine by air, land, and sea in the most extensive strike by one nation against another state in Europe since World War Two.
Russian missiles fell over Ukrainian cities and Ukraine reports of columns of troops that were swarming across its border across the Eastern Chernihiv, Kharkiv and Luhansk regions.
Russian troops also made landfall on the sea near ports in Odesa and Mariupol located in the south.
Explosions were heard early in the morning in Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital. Kyiv is home to 3 million inhabitants.
Silencers rang, gunfire rattled, and the road that leads out of the city was choked with cars as people left.
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The smell of smoke was black over Ukraine’s headquarters for military intelligence following an incident in Kyiv around midday.
The attack came after months of unsuccessful attempts at diplomacy by Western leaders to prevent conflict. Instead, they realized their biggest concerns regarding Russian President Vladimir Putin’s plans.
“Russia brutally attacked our state early in the morning, just as Nazi Germany did during the WW2 period,” tweeted Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
“As of now, our nations are on opposite perspectives in the world’s history. Unfortunately, Russia has taken an evil path and has been a victim of the neo-conservatives. However, Ukraine defends itself and will not compromise its rights regardless of Moscow beliefs.”
He called upon Ukrainians to defend their nation on the city’s streets. He said that weapons are available to all willing to fight.
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He also called on Russians to march on their streets to protest their government’s actions.
EU Foreign Affairs head Josep Borrell stated: “These are among the darkest days in Europe in the years since the Second World War.”
A Ukrainian resident in the second-largest city in Ukraine, Kharkiv, the closest major town to the Russian border, reported that windows in apartments were shaking due to continuous blasts.
Outside Mariupol, near the frontline occupied by separatists backed by Russia, smoke came out of a fire in a forest hit through Russian bombing.
A Ukrainian armored column sped through the streets. It was accompanied by soldiers who sat on towers beaming with pride and flashing victory flags to vehicles passing by who cheered their horns.
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In the nearby Mangush and Berdyansk towns, people waited in line for gasoline and cash. The civil servants of Mariupol could be seen packing their bags.
“We are hiding,” one woman said.
The initial reports about casualties have not been confirmed. However, Ukraine has reported at least eight people killed in Russian shelling, and three border guards were killed in the south of the Kherson region.
The Ukrainian military claimed to have eliminated four Russian tanks on a highway close to Kharkiv.
It killed 50 troops close to a town in the Luhansk region and shot down the six Russian warplanes in eastern Ukraine.
Russia has denied that its military vehicles or aircraft were destroyed. Instead, Russia-backed separatists claim to have taken down two Ukrainian planes.
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