Ukraine has severed diplomatic relations with Russia after Moscow launched an all-out invasion of Ukraine by land, air and sea on Thursday, the biggest attack by one state against another in Europe since World War 2
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia resumed missile strikes at 4 am Friday, but its troops had been stopped from advancing in most directions. The shelling sets off day two of fighting after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the ‘military operations’ in Ukraine. Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said 137 people, including 10 military officers, have been killed and 316 people injured so far.
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden said Washington will intervene if Putin moves into NATO countries, stressing that if his Russian counterpart is not stopped now, he will be emboldened. The countries on NATO’s eastern flank, especially the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, all have received the first batches of US military troops and equipment.
In the wee hours of Friday, Ukraine said it lost control of the Chernobyl nuclear site, the site of the 1986 disaster, and the staff at the Chernobyl plant had been “taken hostage”. World leaders have decried the invasion and announced sanctions on Russia. China, meanwhile, continues its support of the Kremlin with its customs agency approving imports of wheat from all regions of Russia.