Coordinated airstrikes hit Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odessa; U.S. demands NordStream shutdown
European tensions came to a grimly anticipated climax last night and early this morning.
In a frightening development that much of the world was waiting for, Russian military forces invaded Ukraine on three fronts, launching coordinated airstrikes on many of the country's major cities and airports. The capital city of Kyiv, along with Kharkiv in the east, Odessa to the south on the Black Sea, and spots as far west as Lviv near the Polish border, were all affected. Numbers and statistics will continue to develop, but it is clear from reports and videos that swathes of Ukrainians are attempting to evacuate Kyiv and the country altogether, while others attempt to stand and fight in what is probably the most serious global military situation since the Second World War.
The entire conflict, while driven primarily by political and ethnic motivations, also has important ties to the energy sector. Specifically, the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, a finished but yet-to-be-operational project that stretches from Russia to Germany by way of the North Sea, is a point of major contention with the United States. Announcements from the White House and U.S. Department of Defense said almost immediately following the attacks that the Nord Stream will be shut down by its German and American interests.
Diplomatically, almost every nation worldwide has condemned the attacks, and NATO countries are planning to convene this week to discuss response strategies. Sanctions are already being pressed upon Russia's elite.
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