Ukraine and Russia..developments of the crisis in brief
Following are the most important developments in the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, which ended in a war at dawn today:
* Russian President Vladimir Putin orders the launch of a "special military operation" targeting Ukraine in the early hours of Thursday morning to eliminate what he described as a serious threat.
* Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky adopts a decree to impose martial law and Parliament approves it.
* Putin says his goal is to disarm Ukraine and rid it of Nazi ideology.
* Ukrainian border guards say that Russian forces attacked Ukraine from Belarus and from Russia, with the support of Belarus, at about five in the morning local time today, Thursday, and that an attack also began from the Crimea peninsula, which Russia annexed.
* The Russian Interfax news agency quoted a spokesman for Russian-backed separatists in the Ukrainian region of Donetsk that they launched large-scale strikes on Ukrainian forces along the line separating the two sides.
* Ukrainian Defense Minister says that the enemy has started intensive bombing of Ukrainian units in the east, military control centers and airports.
* US President Joe Biden condemns the unprovoked attack of the Russian army without any provocation in a call with the Ukrainian president.
“I have decided to carry out a special military operation,”
Putin said.
“Its goal is to protect people who have been subjected to bullying and genocide... for the past eight years.
That is why we will work hard to disarm Ukraine and rid it of Nazi ideology.
"As well as the prosecution of those who committed numerous bloody crimes against civilians, including citizens of the Russian Federation."
Awaited events
* US President Biden will meet with his counterparts in the Group of Seven countries this morning, Thursday, to determine the harsh measures that will be taken against Russia, after the Russian President's decision to launch what Biden described as a "premeditated war" on Ukraine.
* European Union leaders are discussing imposing further sanctions on Russia in an emergency meeting today, according to a statement issued by the European Union.
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