The crisis between Russia and Ukraine has continued to escalate daily. Shortly before midnight CST on Wednesday, Feb. 23, Ukraine announced that Russia “had launched a full-scale invasion,” according to CBS News. This occurred merely hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made a speech in the capital city of Kyiv, imploring Putin not to invade and requesting peace for his country as reported in The New York Times.
According to the most recent update from The Times, U.S. President Joe Biden made a statement on Thursday, Feb. 24, saying that U.S. troops would not enter Ukraine unless Russia moves against NATO-allied countries and has authorized the deployment of more troops to Eastern Europe in case this occurs. Biden has also announced more sanctions against Russia, which includes freezing their assets and cutting off Russian banks from Western finances.
According to The Times, shelling was first reported in the capital city of Kyiv. By the end of the day in Ukraine, the Russians successfully invaded Chernobyl, a radioactive town north of Kyiv. They had also pushed into Odessa, one of Ukraine’s largest cities, continuing to shell many other surrounding cities and decimating approximately 70 military targets, 11 airfields and a naval base in Ukraine. Dozens of Ukrainian citizens and over 40 Ukrainian soldiers have already been killed, per The Times.
Meanwhile, transportation vehicles continue to stream out of these attacked cities as Ukrainian citizens search for refuge from the chaos all around them. The New York Times reported that an invasion of Ukraine by Russia “would create one of the largest refugee crises in the world,” a crisis that has already begun.
Staff Writer
