The Russian Invasion Begins

[0] This is Sabrina Tabernisi.

[1] I'm in Kiev, Ukraine, and it's about 11 .20 at night.

[2] About an hour ago, we got information from some colleagues that there will likely be an attack tonight in Kiev and in a number of other cities in Ukraine.

[3] We're gathering all of our stuff together, looking at a empty bag that I'm about to put a bunch of stuff in, a bunch of bottles of water.

[4] A little contraption that powers a computer off of a car battery headlamp, a bunch of extra power supplies.

[5] And the plan is to go into the bathrooms of this hotel.

[6] If there is a bombing, they are the furthest internal and away from the windows in the hotel, and there are big, deep closets in front of them that are also protective.

[7] Looking out the window, this beautiful city just started to rain.

[8] Kind of misty, really hard to imagine that there could be major damage in this city of millions of people.

[9] I'm feeling nervous, and my adrenaline starts going, which means the way I focus and remember what I'm seeing.

[10] And witness is to write down notes in my notebook with timestamps.

[11] So here's the first one.

[12] that's 1128 in Kiev and I'm putting all my gear into an empty bag.

[13] From New York Times, I'm Michael Babaro.

[14] This is a daily.

[15] The Russian assault on Ukraine has begun.

[16] Today, my colleagues in Kiev, Slaviansk and Moscow, documented the hours leading up to the military operation.

[17] And the attack itself, it's Thursday, February 24th.

[18] This is Anton Trojanovsky, Moscow Bureau Chief of the New York Times.

[19] It's 3 .20 a .m. Moscow time on Thursday, February 24th.

[20] We're all wondering, could this be it?

[21] Could this be the night?

[22] about three and a half hours ago, the Kremlin put out a statement saying that the Russian -backed separatists in eastern Ukraine had asked the Kremlin for military help.

[23] But this feels like that type of moment that we've been waiting for a pretext for an invasion.

[24] And yeah, so it's such an unsettling feeling walking through my neighborhood in central Moscow tonight, it looked totally normal.

[25] Everyone was just going about their business, the restaurants are full, and to think we could be on the verge of a horrific war is still, I think, not something that people can imagine.

[26] So for now, I'm staying up.

[27] all my colleagues in Ukraine are staying up and we just have to wait.

[28] It's 1 .51 a .m. in Kiev, Ukraine.

[29] This country's president just gave a live address to his own nation and to the nation of Russia.

[30] Today I initiated telephone and a president of Russian Federation.

[31] In the beginning, he says that he called President Vladimir Putin, the president of the Russian Federation.

[32] And he said, quote, the result was silence.

[33] And then he said, as a result, I want to address all of the citizens of Russia.

[34] I am speaking to you not as a president.

[35] I speak to you as a citizen of Ukraine.

[36] We are separated by more than 2 ,000 kilometers of mutual borders, along which 200 ,000 of your soldiers and 1 ,000 armored vehicles are standing.

[37] Your leadership has approved their step forward into the territory of another country.

[38] This step, this step could be the beginning of a big war on the European continent.

[39] It was really striking speech in which he essentially appealed to Russians to their sense of conscience and told them that what they were getting on their televisions was completely different version of the country he knew as Ukraine.

[40] He said, He were told we are Nazis.

[41] He were told we are Nazis, but how can a people support Nazis that gave more than 8 million lies for the victory over Nazism?

[42] You were told we hate Russian culture.

[43] How can one hate a culture?

[44] Any culture?

[45] Neighbors always enrich each other culturally.

[46] However, that does not make them a single whole.

[47] It doesn't dissolve us into you.

[48] We are different, but that's not a reason to be enemies.

[49] Note, I'm going in Russian but nobody in Russia don't know what I'm speaking to you now in the Russian language but no one in Russia understands what I'm talking about many of you have been in Ukraine of many of you have been in Ukraine.

[50] Many of you have relatives in Ukraine some studied in Ukrainian universities.

[51] You know Ukraine.

[52] Listen to yourselves.

[53] listen to the voice of reason the people of Ukraine want peace the authorities in Ukraine want peace they want it and they are doing everything they can for it we don't need war but if we are attacked if someone attempts to take away our land our freedom our lives the lives of our children we will defend ourselves we won't attack but defend ourselves by attacking, you'll see our faces, not our backs, our faces.

[54] I know this speech of mine won't be shown on Russian TV, but the people of Russia need to see it.

[55] They need to know the truth.

[56] The truth is that this must be stopped before it is too late.

[57] And if the leadership of Russia does not want to say, sit down at a table for peace with us, then maybe it will sit down at a table with you.

[58] Do Russians want war?

[59] I would very much like the answer to this question, but the answer depends only on you, the citizens of the Russian Federation.

[60] So an hour or two after the Kremlin made that announcement about the separatists, another remarkable thing happened, which is that President Zelensky of Ukraine, released a speech, a video address in the Russian language to Russians.

[61] And it was really something to watch, you know, really felt like a last -ditch appeal for peace, Zelensky telling Russians that they're the only ones who can stop this horrific bout of violence from breaking out that Zelensky said could kill tens of thousands of people.

[62] But of course, the fact is they can't really influence.

[63] it.

[64] They can't really influence anything in this country.

[65] It's a country run by President Putin.

[66] It's 3 .28 a .m. The hotel is quiet.

[67] I'm going to open the window.

[68] The rain stopped.

[69] The lights in the city are still on.

[70] I'm going to get some sleep.

[71] We'll be right back.

[72] In this, we will be to demilitarization and deninification of Ukraine, and also, to give them to the court of those who made sure many -chislanded crime of people, in the United States.

[73] It's 6 .20 a .m. in Moscow.

[74] Just a few minutes ago, Putin went on national television in the middle of the night to essentially all but declare war against Ukraine.

[75] He said he had ordered, a special military operation to, quote, demilitarize and denazify the country.

[76] He said he wanted to bring Ukrainian officials who the Russians call neo -Nazis to justice.

[77] It's something, obviously, I'm still processing.

[78] He called on Ukrainian soldiers to lay down their arms, and he threatened that any other countries who, try to interfere would face consequences, quote unquote, unlike they've never seen before in their history.

[79] It's 5 .09 a .m. I just heard an alert on my phone, and it sounds like it started.

[80] There's a strange green light directly out of my window.

[81] I can see it on this horizon.

[82] I can't hear anything here in Kiev.

[83] I'm seeing my colleagues.

[84] and little recordings.

[85] This is Michael Schwartz.

[86] Saying it's begun.

[87] I'm a reporter with New York Times reporting from Slavianzka.

[88] I was just woken up by two very large booms.

[89] It seems like the neighboring city of Kramatorsk is hung under some kind of fire.

[90] Still waiting to confirm this.

[91] It looks like explosions.

[92] Rocket or artillery attacks right now in Kiev, the outskirts of Kiev and Kharkiv, which is a large city, a little ways to the north of me. I'm seeing other reports, several major cities.

[93] But there was definitely some kind of artillery or rock attack on the city of Cromitoursk this morning, about 10 or 15 minutes from where I am right now.

[94] There are reporters from the BBC in the city who confirmed that there was some kind of attack.

[95] There are other reports of...

[96] Oh my God, this is actually happening.

[97] There's a very loud explosion, John.

[98] just now, 5 .37 a .m., the same spot over the horizon that's glowing red.

[99] I'm watching reports from other cities.

[100] Here's one from Murielpo by a journalist.

[101] Out explosions over the city of Minneapolis.

[102] It's a city on the southern coast really close to Russia.

[103] there's just no way that Ukraine can fight this off.

[104] Russia's military is overwhelmingly stronger.

[105] It's just like they're coming in and attacking.

[106] And I'm just not sure how long Ukraine will be able to hold this off, if at all.

[107] It's 7 .07 a .m. and sirens are going off around Kyiv.

[108] what sounds like air raid sirens.

[109] There's some smoke coming from the horizon.

[110] There are reports of huge traffic snarls leaving the city going to Jietomer, headed west toward Poland.

[111] Looks like buses are still running.

[112] They're growing signs that people are trying to leave the city.

[113] Sabrina, what's your name?

[114] Alex, nice to meet you, Alex.

[115] Where are you going today?

[116] Home.

[117] Where's home?

[118] Riverne region.

[119] Where is that in Ukraine?

[120] It's a western part of Ukraine.

[121] And you're waiting for a bus here?

[122] Yeah.

[123] Alice is sitting on a black bag and a very cloudy day.

[124] Jet going overhead.

[125] It's very loud.

[126] How are you feeling this morning, Alex?

[127] Portable.

[128] Tell me about that.

[129] Our people Our people, our military is now dying in Lawns and Donesse region and that's horrible.

[130] Belarus, same thing.

[131] The tanks from Belarus started to attack us, so I don't know.

[132] I don't know what to do.

[133] How old are you, Alex?

[134] 18.

[135] Will you come back to Kyiv, do you think to help?

[136] If it's, if it will be Russian, no. If it will be Russian, meaning, oh, if Kiev will be Russian, you will come back.

[137] Yeah.

[138] Do you think that Kiev will be Russian?

[139] Maybe by the evening, I think the half of Ukraine will be Russian.

[140] How are you feeling right now?

[141] I don't know what to say.

[142] Like, no words.

[143] Thank you.

[144] As of Thursday morning, the Ukrainian government said that more than 40 Ukrainian soldiers had died and that dozens had been wounded.

[145] Russia's Defense Ministry said it had disabled all of Ukraine's air defenses and air bases.

[146] But despite being severely outnumbered, Ukrainian forces continued to resist, telling the times they had shot down six Russian fighter jets and a helicopter and had held back Russian forces from two key cities.

[147] Meanwhile, both the United Nations and the United States condemned Russia in the strongest possible terms.

[148] In a statement, President Biden said, quote, President Putin has chosen a premeditated war that will bring a catastrophic loss of life and human suffering.

[149] He added, the world will hold Russia accountable.

[150] We'll be right back.

[151] Here's what else you need to know today.

[152] On Wednesday, Los Angeles County dropped the requirement that it's 10 million residents wear masks indoors as long as they can show proof of vaccination.

[153] It was the latest major jurisdiction to lift COVID restrictions as infections plunge.

[154] The number of new cases in the U .S. has fallen 66 % in the past two weeks.

[155] And on Wednesday, the U .S. Postal Service said it would purchase up to 148 ,000 gas -powered delivery trucks over the objections of the White House, which had encouraged it to invest in green technology.

[156] The decision undercuts the climate goals of the Biden administration, which has pledged to transition the federal government's fleet of cars to electric vehicles.

[157] The Postal Service said it lacked the time and money to purchase tens of thousands of electric cars, a claim that the White House has disputed.

[158] Today's episode was produced by Lindsay Garrison, Claire Tennisketter, Ostachatravedi, and Sydney Harper.

[159] It was edited by Lisa Chow and Larissa Anderson, contains original music by Marion Lazzano and Dan Pell, and was engineered by Chris Wood.

[160] Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Lansberg of Wonderling.

[161] It for the Daily.

[162] I'm Michael Bobarro.

[163] See you tomorrow.