who, ah ah, this is the w my from, but i may in russia launch is a full scale invasion of ukraine using air strikes and artillery to attack targets across the country, including major cities and the capital key. ukraine says dozens of people have been killed. cranium, president vladimir zelinski says his country's army is fighting back and urges people in russia to protest against the war. world leaders respond with outrage. german chancellor, olaf shaw says the bottom of potent worldpay fisher price for the invasion french

president emanuel macro promised to respond without weakness. what he said was russia's act of war a i'm fil gale. welcome to the program of russia has launched a full scale invasion of ukraine. the russian military were using asked rags, not hillary to attack targets across the country, including big cities and the capitol ukraine. countries government says dozens of it. soldiers have been killed so far and what it's called a full scale war. keith is declared curfew is tens of thousands who does lead to safety. the e. u is calling the invasion the darkest hours for the continent since world war 2 and has promised to impose crippling sanctions. dw correspondent to funny for shaw is in cave and sent us this update against sirens

blaring the food that quite often today. in fact, for the very 1st time, shortly after the 1st explosion here, here around 4 am, or shortly after letting me put in declared, quote, a military operation against ukraine. now that military operation actually turns into a full scale invasion, a several rockets that hit various cities and invasion by land, by air, by sea. that is what is happening right on ukraine and people here and keep the ones who are staying out, hoping that maybe what we had experienced this morning, the explosions to showing that maybe this is it about if you ask me the been so many things happening over the course of the past days that nobody thought is likely and turned out to be re our politic. for example, the recognition of the 2 self proclaimed states in the dumbass region who has and don. yes, that have been a claim that have been a basically taken as a declared as,

excuse me, as an independent region. and also of letting me put you saying that basically ukraine doesn't have the right to exist as a state. so that clearly signals that, unfortunately more likely more is to come even though this point things seem to be con. behind me we have seen a lot of ukrainian is security forces. we cannot independently verify actually water, those shelling. so what does explosions have hit by their reports that the military airport is 50 kilometers from here? was also attacked as well as a building, which is a, supposedly the military intelligence headquarters for the shop in kiff. well, nato secretary general consultant burke has called i summit for friday, inviting leaders from the alliance trust, finland, and sweden to discuss a response to this invasion. here you speaking

a short while ago. very important to remember that there is one that is to resar, won one state that is responsible for what is happening now in your credit. that is russia, russia, esther, come to, which is responsible for the loss of lies and aggressive actions against the ukraine. on though we have reached out for rashaw to rochelle for many, many years actually. ah, and especially during the last months to engage in political dollar to try to prevent this conflict. but at the same time go us. it was level 9 said the girls have been absolutely prepared for the worst was and that's what's happening now. so i, we have that amendment as well, no grocery that sort of sean russia is responsible for to see a bullying in ukraine. now let's get more from tito. correspond the tele schultz who was out today that news conference and joins us from nato headquarters. welcome at terry. so mr. ste oldenburg, they're saying, well,

we did everything we could to diplomatically, this is russia's doing. what else did he have to say? this was a very emotional press conference by the nato secretary general. something we don't see very often here at nato headquarters. he called it a brutal war. he said that conflicts had now been unleashed on this continent of a scale and type that we never expected to see before here in europe. and he was very clearly as you heard there, laying the blame on rush up, but at the same time, praising the ukrainian men and women in uniform. he's he said, who were so bravely battling against this attack. and i heard that also from inside the meeting this morning where 8 allies said the ukrainian invasion post, a direct threat to their security. i heard that one of them said that that the threat actually ranks up there with the threat from 911. so clearly people here at nato headquarters are very, very worried. okay, so we have a conflict at the moment involving of russia and a non native country, a ukraine,

but nature alliance members saying they fear that what will happen. nato has not been slow in moving its troops around to strengthen the 8th. it ceased and flung cousin. that's right. i mean, several of these countries are neighbors of ukraine or of beller roofs where russia, you know, kept 30000 troops and then used them to move in to ukraine earlier today. so clearly there are allies that are, are right there on the frontline of the conflict and they've long been worried that this kind of instability would spread into their territory. whether or not president putin would dare to step a foot into a nato country, the instability and the fear nonetheless, seeps right across that border. so while nato has moved troops and other resources tanks, other heavy equipment to its border, those allies are still asking for yet more reinforcements. right. so given this is not ne, so's fight con nato. make

a difference. it looks a bit late to make a difference for ukraine, despite the warnings against such an attack that came here from nato headquarters for months and months to, to no avail. so it cannot make a difference for ukraine at the moment, but it, nato can still, i would say, very adequately defend nato allies. nobody really seems to think that president putin would attack and nato country so that the task now is to, to reinforce those countries, to form an iron clad guarantee that there is no risk to a nato country. and that's what it's doing now. and, and in fact, today, nato gave it supreme allied commander, yet more powers to move quickly. he would no longer have to come to nato headquarters and asked for permission from the 30 allies to move troops. he can now do that on his own right. friday has been set for a meeting of nato hurts, plus finland and sweden,

which are neutral. what's the thinking behind inviting them? nato. i often invites these non aligned countries, finland and sweden, to its meetings, because they are very much integrated with, with nato's defense. i mean, it's not a nato's interest to have a hole in its security up there with ben linden suite in, nor for those countries either and the european union leaders have also been invited to this summit. ursula under lion and sharma shell, have also been asked to come up to the, to the nato leaders to meeting tomorrow. so i think what, what nato wants to do and the, you, as well as to present a united front, a seamless front, together with united states. it's important to say, i mean, that's what, what nato brings to the table. here is this transatlantic bond, and they will send yet another signal to russian. president putin. now it's, it's no longer, you know, asking him a, trying to convince him to change course. it's too late for that, but they're going to make sure he understands that there's going to be a very high price to pay for what he's doing in ukraine. and is it obvious that all

nato allies are on the same page? because and over the last couple of years we've seen talking, take some, some interesting turns that's true. there have been some disputes with, especially between turkey and the united states. in particular, with turkey turning to russia, for example, in buying a missile defense system that would be integrated with russia's system. and that doesn't. you can't sync that up with a nato missile defense system. so that has, it definitely caused some frayed nerves. but we have not seen that coming up now in this conflict. if you really don't hear of allies differing much on what needs to be done, everyone at the moment feels threatened by what russia is doing in ukraine and, and concerns that instability, i mean, and not just instability but, but people refugees running from the chaos in their country would come across the borders. we've really seen a remarkable show of unity from nato, and you'll hear that from, from nato secretary general. but i also hear that in speaking with allies,

it with countries that sometimes don't, aren't on the same page. on this case, really, everybody has the same opinion and there has been a tendency in the run up to this, this conflict attorney for us to talk about nato very much. so it was one, it's one block, but we do see members of the alliance acting on their own behalf to on up sort of bilateral. i'm basis with you. crime. yeah. yeah. they need to do that because it's so hard to get 30 to come to the same decision. and, you know, germany would be one case in point where you can't get germany to agree to send to send a defensive equipment for example, to, to ukraine. and so allies have really had to, to go on their own. you've seen the united states and thousands of troops to the baltic states and france is now planning to lead a battalion in romania. and sometimes it's just quicker to act alone if you can't. if you know that you can't get 30 allies to agree to send the same the same

equipment, for example, but on the message and, and on, on the, the signal to the kremlin that you simply cannot change international borders by force. there's certainly no difference of opinion on that. thank you so much for that territory. schultz and brussels at nato headquarters on ukraine's government to his promising and all our defense of the country as russian troops. portia further into route i care says dozens of its soldiers have been killed. with dawn came the bombs rush or attacked sites across ukraine. the russian troops that had been amassing on the border for weeks started rolling in, recorded on surveillance cameras by ukraine's board of police rushes leda

vladimir putin announced the military operation in broadcast on russian t. v. he disparaged ukraine's democratically elected government and aust, ukrainian soldiers to surrender. ukraine's president velasmio savanski introduced martial law and he made an emotional plea to russian questions can. i'm addresses you the russian people as the ukranian citizen, bullied, we are separated by a border stretching more than 2000 kilometers. and right now there are 200000 of your soldiers. there are a couple of your leadership has authorized them to move into the territory of another country. and this could mark the start of the major war on the european continents. now you can continue black smoke from a ukrainian military airport and to give in the east of the country. russia

confirms that they bombed the site for housing block with hit and distraught residents were left, grieving the 1st casualties in a new war. they did not want as the world condemned russia attack on its neighbor. the e u commission president said all of europe is under threat. over the good news. the russians target is not only done bus. the target is not only ukraine, the target is a stability in europe and the whole of the international peace order. and we will hold president putin accountable for that. germany's chancellor laughed shalt promised. more sanctions will be coordinating closely with our international partners in nato. and in the european union today,

in order to place further severe sanctions against russia now. but clank, sions can't come soon enough for many ukrainians. in the capital cave caused jammed the roads as the residence tried to flee the city as to come talk more than about international reaction to what's going on with the w st. political correspondent, melinda crime. a welcome letter. so we've heard from the you were paying commission presidents in the german chancellor and that's a brief report and tell us more about international reaction. well, 1st of all, shock we've seen a number of leaders saying that this is the darkest a we've seen in europe for a very long time. or as the german foreign minister put it that we've woken up in a new world. the finish leader said this is an attack on the entire

security order of europe since the 2nd world war, because a breach of in terrell, a territorial integrity is of course, a breach of the sanctity of borders that was put in place by the un charter. after the 2nd world war to finally stabilize this continent where borders have so often been disputed and where there have so often been, been conflicts over over sovereignty. so a very residing message from many, many leaders, that this is not just simply an attack on ukraine, but an attack that is much larger with repercussions for all of us. that's one set of messaging. another set of messaging is to very clearly refute vladimir putin claims that were reiterated once again in the night. just as this attack was being launched, that he simply exercising russia's legitimate interest to reclaim

a region that has always been part of its cultural, national heritage. and also to defend russia, security interests in the face of natives eastward an expansion. so clear statements from the u. s. president from the nato secretary, general and friend from numerous leaders saying this is an act of aggression. this is a war of aggression. it is unprovoked and unjustified as president biden said. it is entirely pu teens, more as the german chancellor said, and it is by him, a willful, intentional act to, to invade another country. and then 3rd, set of messages that he will pay a price that he will be held accountable, that there will be much harsher sanctions that they will be bitter as the chancellor of germany said. and, and that the west is resolute in,

in going ahead with the sanctions even when they cause pain at home for the company . and interestingly, the, the condemnation is not universal. we see china are calling for cool halves, but sort of leaving it that absolutely. we do have a sound bite on that. i don't know whether we can no, no, not right now. ok. indeed, we heard a chinese response that was very measure to so some appeal for all parties to go back to the table and, and to give diplomacy a chance. of course, diplomacy looking very much at a dead end at the moment. and then also expressing some a discomfort, a kind of a moderate discomfort with the fact that we are seeing the actual conflict. on the other hand, assorted indirect reference to countries need to pursue their legitimate

interests, which essentially harks back to the new warm ties between president g and ping and president putin that were expressed on the margins of the olympics as it was drawing to a close. when the 2 met and said that they would be acting in concert in future. and of course, some of the rhetoric that russia uses in regard to eastern ukraine sounds a lot like the rhetoric the chinese uses in regard to taiwan. so china trying to tread a kind of a difficult line that there will be there for the d. w. such a personal correspondence, melinda craig. thank you so much. let's see if we can get an idea of what's going on inside president putin se heads mikhail lac cas now casino was the prime minister of russia from 2000 to 2004

during president person's 1st administration. he's now with the opposition people's freedom party in russia. welcome to d, w. so you know the president, well what do you think the purpose of this innovation is? thank you for having me in the program. i think just this is completely different butcher and facts before monday i believe. and i saw that mr. williams was blocking bluffing, trying to get concessions from the west on just those. i was a imagine security threats, et cetera, for a few months of those negotiations. and he wanted to have pictures just 2nd hand of a president by the european leaders. on monday, when i watched tv and mr. put in speech on the meeting for the security council and later his strange lecture, the full convictions and the medicines and history stories. i understood that

something wrong with the thing just needs to put it out of a normal mind. and in fact, what is happening today it's, it's absolutely disaster as a disaster that this and i would say, no violation of international law, just no one could expect such a violation of such a disaster. right. the fear before this happened was that if it happened, mister burton would not stop at the next and knew hans, i would go for the whole of the country. now. the fair must be that perhaps he won't even stop it. you cry. right now you are correct, is an absolute, unpredictable situation. nobody can predict what people use to put things right now . and what his ambition, he's at the moment. in fact, you know, just there is, there is such kind of

a explanation that he wants to restore. so cobra, which is the mother of russia, marcia beach lat lights in a couple of centuries ago from dawn box to i guess so, and the grain has no access to the length of lexie. that is, maybe this is the idea at the moment at we see and have song beaches, other pot 1000 part of your brain. right? some things out there and people are really complaining that they don't expect just that. so we can do those things with a beer. it means means to put you on going further on to odessa and, and trans, mr. this very dangerous development taking place right now. with our 2020 hindsight, what do you think? could this have been prevented if the west, the a you, the night of the u. s. a taken tougher action? previously?

no, previously, i don't, i don't think that would prevent it mister put in just explains that they are prepared. in fact, you can imagine that, that needs to put on his, in the circle, they're prepared to live in isolation. they all came from the soviet union as, as may know us. and they will engage the v, engaging people and the legalization. and they lived in the very welcome just and right now they believe they will survive the same way. they don't care about russian people and the, and just the whole situation. russia, they're thinking about themselves that prepaid fights, but i don't think their lives how difficult that will be if those hush sanctions reach were explained previously by american the european leaders would be exposed that will be disaster for economy and eve, foreign exchange in florida. what stop coming in to russia? it means just dramatic deletion of robot. it means absolutely

a growing poverty every day. it means growing negative. want you to, to mr. podium within so period of time. all right, well let's pick up that point and let's hear from the president of the european commission. i sort of funded, i'm talking about sanctions. let me be very clear. it is president putin who will have to explain this to his citizens. i know that the russian people do not want this war european union a need to have worked in close complementarity. and this crisis will bring us even closer together. it is our shared duty to stand up to the gravest act of aggression on european soil since decades. we call kathy and offer you and are sort of funded . i'm are both made that but the same point that this will lead to unrest amongst the russian people. but we have a russian president who has been in power long enough,

but he knows which leave is to pull and he can keep his people at down. so this isolation that you do talk about, but you think that you say that will not bother him, but will bother the russian people will. will he be bothered by their response? a people would understand that they already have nothing to lose or other people, which is more than 50 percent, the population of each leave in the pool conditions and the you know, just the poverty is 20000000 people. just people who live under that level of appropriate level of living and that these people would start with understanding that was that the understand what's going on. why just rush as i should reach country and the heading section, a big problems and they can, they can survive middle class and the biggest already started to. ready protest and

some people already put in the rest, rest of them put in, put in jail just during the day that were ready to see reports from moscow inside. because will can the, for example. and i think that that there will be growing growing unrest of people not immediately, but during the period of time with absolutely immature. but you are a clear vision who is responsible for all those florida who is guilty, where the source of all danger for russian people east. i think they will clearly would understand it without help of my bar to people's freedom. but although we are under pressure right now, and we cease to exist this year because us government already just announced that we should be close better. so because of incorporation with so called desirable organization, it means our parties are in european union just with a very close that because we have common values and we will,

we'll be closed very soon. we already made those statements, of course, the morning and the yesterday. and the, and we realize just how difficult for people will be to accept what is going on and how difficult will be told to come when the sanctions will be exposed. i know what we've got, let me just but then just just talk about this process because this looks like it's got it to be a very long drawn out process. you have the invasion which has not started. you have international leaders talking about sanctions. they have been to agree them, and the u. s. is not quick to do that. as an example. they have to agree them. they have to implement them, then they have to bite. during which time russia becomes more and more embedded in which have a bits of ukraine or into the whole country it has taken. so we are talking about month in this process before we see sanctions actually working on me. oh, it's not the question for me. i think just because the european leadership decides

us how fast on how fast, how strong those sanctions should be with what other responses. because there is no any instrument on their hands. but in fact, if, if i can say i can tell you that the, the sanctions will go and guess that that will be immediate effect within the couple of months. because just a foreign exchange will not come to russia. and that means it will be a huge pressure to rural, means just to what ation of national currency. it means just no axis for international or foreign markets. it means as rational banking system cannot, cannot finance. and it's in good mean spending money. it's means hyperinflation. it means disaster and the address on the streets. so that's a response to russia. what about a response for ukraine? is there anything more that the west could be doing for ukraine?

i think the rest should reconsider. oh, what's going was going on and he's going going around to your grand since 2014. and the west should recall that 3 so called budapest memorandum aware, united states and great britain promised to agree to protect and to respect into a thorough integral against the range of the country. a part of those economic sanctions. i think that there is a global. ready security threat, and i think, i think just violation of international law, violation of all those agreements and what appears number i've been particular, it's a serious issue. i think you bring a government already called memphis of with abuse. memorandum to set up a special discussion and think about how to tackle these threads. we should be just

yesterday on the certified care and very clear. thank you for joining us, former prime minister of russia. mccullough. kathy, thank you're watching a dw news life from berlin. i am recapping our top story, our only story and this our russia has launched a full scale invasion of ukraine attacks being carried out by air and land forces across the country keeps as dozens have been killed and many injured in water in an assault that nato says amounts to a cold blooded invasion. western leaders as a bank will impose crippling sanctions as thousands ukrainians scramble to leave the biggest cities as get reaction from washington. men in his poll at washington bureau chief is so stanley by welcome in us. let's talk about about the reaction there has been amongst the washington politicians

today. well, president biden reacted immediately after a brought in stars of the invasion and ukraine by condemning it and is saying that this is a war is just about to start. he talked immediately to the ukranian president are kind of to exchange information and also tell him are a kind of underlined the support or zalinski can i expect from the west. what we are waiting for here in the united states is the speech president biden will give in a little bit a more than an hour. and there shall be interesting or how precisely he really ours the sanctions. or we can expect from him or what he is going to support. so before that happens we know that he's been meeting with his counterpart.