Russia began an unprecedented attack on its neighbour Ukraine early Thursday morning. Reports of missile and explosion strikes against key Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv, were reported.

Officials in Ukraine have reported that the military attack on Ukraine is taking place on both the ground as well as by air.

Russia attacked various locations in the country on Thursday morning local time, after Russian President Vladimir Putin declared that Russia would conduct a special military operation against Ukraine.

Putin stated that Russia’s ultimate goal was to “demilitarize and dezify” Ukraine. Russia’s intentions do not include the occupation and control of Ukrainian territory, he said.

Russian political followers are close to those who believe Putin is trying to undermine Ukraine’s pro–Western government to install a pro–Russian regime.

Officials from the U.S. and Europe have all condemned the attack, with Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister calling for “heavy sanction” against Moscow.

As of now, it is unclear if the West will use military force to defeat Putin. Many countries have provided weapons and assistance to Ukraine, such as the U.S. and U.K. Ukraine’s foreign minister called for additional weapons, financial and humanitarian support.

Putin sent a chilling message to the West, warning that any country trying to interfere with the operation against Ukraine would be punished immediately.

Some of these vehicles appeared to be marked with a “Z”, which is an indication that the vehicle was Z-certified. been a feature of Russian military vehicles that had been amassing along the border with Ukraine in recent months although it cannot be definitively said that the vehicles are Russian.