Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that the Kremlin had decided to carry out a “special military operation” in Ukraine.

“The situation requires us to take decisive, swift action,” he said in an early morning speech, adding that Moscow would carry out the “demilitarization and denazification” of Ukraine and end eight years of war in eastern Ukraine, where Kyiv government forces have been fighting pro-Moscow separatist militants.

Explosions could be heard in Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, and Kharkiv, in the country’s northeast. A senior Ukrainian official said that there were explosions at Kyiv’s Boryspil airport. Putin told Ukrainians to give up their weapons and to return home.

Putin “has chosen a premeditated war that will bring a catastrophic loss of life and human suffering,” President Biden said in a statement that called the Russian operation an “unprovoked and unjustified attack.”

“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,” he said….

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The Kremlin claimed Wednesday that two separatist leaders in eastern Ukraine asked Russian President Vladimir Putin for help to counter Ukrainian “aggression,” paving the way for him to send troops into Ukraine.

Putin on Monday recognized not just the two separatist regions in eastern Ukraine but also their claims to a large swath of the country’s east, including territory held by Kyiv forces, sharply increasing the risk of new violence….

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A new war on the edge of Europe has the potential to unleash the continent’s biggest humanitarian crisis since the Syrian civil war triggered the arrival of more than 1 million refugees in 2015. At every level, plans are complicated by huge unknowns. Could there be a trickle of people seeking safety inside the borders of the European Union — or potentially millions?

Polish officials have indicated that a worst-case scenario could see as many as 1 million people arriving from Ukraine in case of a full-scale Russian invasion. Hungary, which also borders Ukraine, has said it is sending troops to the border, partly in preparation for refugees. Romania has said it is considering refugee camps….

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Americans generally supports Biden’s ‘stand and watch’ approach to the Ukraine conflict. according to a new poll…

There’s little support among Americans for a major U.S. role in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, according to a new poll, even as President Joe Biden imposes new sanctions and threatens a stronger response that could provoke retaliation from Moscow.

Biden has acknowledged a growing likelihood that war in Eastern Europe would affect Americans, though he has ruled out sending troops to Ukraine. Gas prices in the U.S. could rise in the short term. And Russian President Vladimir Putin has a range of tools he could use against the U.S., including cyberattacks hitting critical infrastructure and industries….

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Note….

One thing the American President HAS DONE?

Is give us a blow by blow view HOW the Russians are getting ready to and going ahead overrunning the Ukraine…