ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — People in Ukraine woke up to the sound of explosions early Thursday as Russian military forces bombarded parts of the country, hitting cities and bases with airstrikes or shelling, The Associated Press reported.
The attack ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin on the eastern European country, a sovereign nation, is described as the government's most aggressive action since the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979.
Ukraine is the second-largest country in Europe after Russia, located on its western and southwestern border. It has an estimated population of 44.1 million people, with its capital, Kyiv, home to an estimated 2.9 million people.
Ukraine's neighbor to the north, Belarus, is considered "Europe's last dictatorship" with President Alexander Lukashenko in command since July 1994. Lukashenko is closely aligned with Putin and allowed him to station Russian military equipment and an estimated 30,000 troops for purported drills in recent weeks.
World leaders feared Ukraine being surrounded by the Russian military from its north in Belarus, west in Russia and south in Crimea — which Russia invaded and annexed from Ukraine in 2014 — would lead to a greater invasion.
Russian-backed separatists have engaged in gun battles with Ukrainian soldiers in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine since 2014. To date, experts estimate as many as 14,000 people have died – possibly more.
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The Ukrainian government reported more than 40 soldiers have been killed and dozens wounded so far since the invasion.