WATCH: Missile Hits Airport In Ukraine

Video captured what appeared to be a cruise missile striking an airport in Ukraine on Thursday morning as Russia launched a full-scale invasion into the country after amassing approximately 190,000 soldiers near the Ukrainian border over many weeks in what Russian officials claimed was just military drills.

The invasion started at approximately the same time that Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that a “special military operation” was underway. Putin told Ukrainian soldiers to give up and go home while threatening the U.S. and NATO that if they intervene “Russia will respond immediately, and you will have consequences that you never have had before in your history.”

The initial wave of Russian attacks against Ukraine targeted military and government facilities, airfields, and installations along the border and large explosions were seen in videos posted on social media.

The Financial Times reported:

Oleksiy Arestovych, another adviser in Zelensky’s administration, added that there had been strikes on airfields in the capital city Kyiv, Chernihiv to the north, the western Ukrainian cities of Ivano-Frankivsk and Khmelnytsky, Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine, the Black Sea port city of Odesa, and southern cities of Mykolayiv and Kherson, as well as Kramatorsk in the eastern region of Donbas.

WATCH:

🔴 Russian Missile Hits Ukrainian Airport of Ivano Frankvisk pic.twitter.com/dnymaZK4bD

— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) February 24, 2022

Ukraine said that Belarus, which is aligned with Putin, assisted Russia in attacking Ukraine. A senior Ukrainian official told The Wall Street Journal that hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers died in the initial volley of attacks. That number is likely to quickly rise as Russian ground forces entered Ukraine and Russia has launched attacks against targets in multiple cities, including Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odessa, Ivano-Frankivsk, Mariupol, and others. President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that he was imposing martial law “across the entire territory of our state.”

Oil prices skyrocketed to more than $100 per barrel, Dow futures plummeted 800 points, and Bitcoin lost as much as 8.6% of its value following the invasion. A top Russian official responded to relatively weak sanctions from Democrat President Joe Biden against Russia by effectively saying that Americans would feel the repercussions of the sanctions because Russia would raise the cost of gas. “There is no doubt that the sanctions introduced against us will hit global financial and energy markets,” the official said. “The United States will not be left out, with its ordinary citizens feeling the consequences of the price increase in full.”

Leaders from around the world issued statements condemning Putin for launching the attack while Ukraine pleaded for help at the United Nations. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told the United Nations General Assembly, “We urge member states to use all available means to protect Ukraine and deter Russia.” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the organization will “meet to address the consequences of Russia’s aggressive actions” and that NATO would “do all it takes to protect and defend all Allies.”

The Daily Wire’s first original film, Shut In, has made its cinematic debut, being met with rave reviews. The Daily Wire is building an alternative to the leftist entertainment industry, one gripping movie at a time. Join us in this mission and stream Shut In today by becoming a Daily Wire member.

*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases