“Putin chose this war, and now he and his country will bear the consequences,” President Biden said, announcing new sanctions in his first public remarks since Russia’s assault began.
Before dawn broke in Ukraine on Thursday, Russian forces began to invade the nation through northern forests, eastern plains and along the southern coast, igniting battles around the country that left hundreds dead and drew new sanctions that President Biden said would buckle Russia’s economy.
By sunset, Russian special forces and airborne troops were closing in on Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, and Ukraine’s president said Russian saboteurs had entered the city. Thousands of Ukrainian civilians fled imperiled cities, and thousands of Russians protested the decision to go to war. President Vladimir V. Putin remained defiant as Ukrainians, Russians and observers around the world took stock of the day’s toll. Here are some of the day’s major events.