Evgeniy Maloletka/AP/Shutterstock
Russia’s long feared — and long expected — invasion of Ukraine was underway Thursday, officials said, according to the Associated Press, with forces crossing borders on the north, south and east in a still-evolving attack.
“The world can and must stop Putin. The time to act is now,” Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba urged on social media as Russian President Vladimir Putin told Ukrainian fighters to surrender in what he continued to insist, despite international condemnation, was a peacekeeping mission.
The first explosions were reportedly heard around 5 a.m. Thursday and airstrikes have since occurred in multiple cities, including Kharkiv, Kramatorsk and the capital of Kyiv, the AP reports.
Ukrainian officials said at least 40 people had been killed already with several injuries in what Foreign Minister Kuleba called a “full-scale” invasion of the country, according to the AP and other reports.
“No, this is not a Russian invasion only in the east of Ukraine, but a full-scale attack from multiple directions,” Kuleba wrote on Twitter. “No, the Ukrainian defense has not collapsed. Ukrainian army took the fight. Ukraine stands with both feet on the ground & continues to defend itself.”
RELATED: Biden Denounces ‘Premeditated War’ in Ukraine After Putin Announces ‘Special Military Operation’
As the sun rose Thursday, Ukrainian civilians began fleeing some cities while sirens sounded throughout the capital and a stay-at-home order was issued, according to CNN. Locals were advised to prepare bags with necessities and documents in case of evacuation.
“We are facing a war and horror. What could be worse?” one Kyiv resident told the AP.
The invasion began shortly after Putin announced a so-called “special military operation” in the Donbas area of Ukraine, a separatist region in the eastern part of the country which he said this week should be independent — a move rejected by the U.S. and Ukraine.
In a televised address, Putin maintained that the operation was to “demilitarize” Ukraine and that Ukrainian servicemen who put down their arms will be able to safely leave the combat zone, per the AP.
Putin also issued a warning to anyone who tried to intervene, saying they “must know that Russia’s answer will be immediate, and will lead to such consequences as you never experienced in your history,” according to The New York Times.
It was a barely veiled rebuke to the already mounting international response, including economic sanctions and the deployment of NATO to the surrounding area in what could become Europe’s first major armed conflict in decades.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE‘s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
RUSSIAN PRESIDENT PRESS SERVICE/HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
President Joe Biden issued a statement on Russia’s military moves shortly after Putin’s address aired: “The prayers of the entire world are with the people of Ukraine tonight as they suffer an unprovoked and unjustified attack by Russian military forces.”
“President Putin has chosen a premeditated war that will bring a catastrophic loss of life and human suffering,” Biden said. “Russia alone is responsible for the death and destruction this attack will bring, and the United States and its Allies and partners will respond in a united and decisive way. The world will hold Russia accountable.”
YASIN AKGUL/AFP via Getty Images
European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen likewise vowed to “weaken Russia’s economic base and its capacity to modernize” following its “barbaric attack,” CNN reports.
“We will freeze Russian assets in the European Union and stop the access of Russian banks to European financial markets,” she said.
The exact scale and nature of such sanctions remain to be seen and not every country aligned against Russia agrees on the best punishment.
NATO, the Western alliance that has maintained the balance of power in Europe since the Cold War — and which Putin calls a security threat to Russia — is responding in force to the region around Ukraine.
“In the coming days and weeks … we will further increase our presence in the eastern part of the alliance,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said during a news conference in Brussels on Thursday, per CNBC.
“We have already deployed thousands of troops,” Stoltenberg continued. “The most important thing for Poland and allies in [the eastern part of] the NATO alliance is that there is more NATO presence in the East.”
Ukraine, which had mixed intentions of one day joining NATO, sits between the alliance’s easternmost countries and Russia and has been a flashpoint between them.
