Russia attacks Ukraine, 'shattering' European peace

Russian troops launched a wide-ranging attack on Ukraine on Thursday, as President Vladimir Putin cast aside international condemnation and sanctions and warned other countries that any attempt to interfere would lead to 'consequences you have never seen.'

In unleashing Moscow's most aggressive action since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, President Vladimir Putin deflected global condemnation and cascading new sanctions -- and chillingly referred to his country's nuclear arsenal. He threatened any foreign country attempting to interfere with "consequences you have never seen."

Sirens rang out in Ukraine's capital, large explosions were heard there and in other cities, and people massed in train stations and took to roads, as the government said the former Soviet republic was seeing a long-anticipated invasion from the east, north and south. It reported more than 40 soldiers had been killed and dozens wounded so far.

The chief of the NATO alliance said the "brutal act of war" shattered peace in Europe, joining a chorus of world leaders who decried the attack, which could cause massive casualties, topple Ukraine's democratically elected government and upend the post-Cold War security order. The conflict was already shaking global financial markets: Stocks plunged and oil prices soared amid concerns that heating bills and food prices would skyrocket.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy cut diplomatic ties with Moscow and declared martial law.