Russia invades Ukraine

The airspace over Ukraine and its border with Russia is empty, according to flight-tracking websites, with heavy air traffic apparently avoiding the region as evening sets in on the region Thursday.

Images from ADS-B Exchange show no aircraft over Ukraine, though the open-source site cannot display tracking data from aircraft operating in the area with the location broadcasting intentionally switched off.

Civilian flights over Ukraine, as well as Moldova to the south and parts of Russia, are currently restricted. 

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency warned Thursday that “the presence and possible use of a wide range of ground and airborne warfare systems poses a HIGH risk for civil flights operating at all altitudes and flight levels.”

There are risks to flying over conflict zones – as illustrated by the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over eastern Ukraine by a missile, killing 298 people. Western officials and a Dutch-led investigation said Russian President Vladimir Putin bears responsibility for the incident; Putin has denied it.  

The world has not seen a “move like this, nation state-to-nation state, since World War II,” a senior US defense official told reporters Thursday about Russia's attack on Ukraine — “certainly nothing on this size and scope and scale.”

The official warned that if this conflict “unfolds the way that hereto we have come to believe it will,” it has “every potential to be very bloody, very costly and very impactful on European security writ large.”

“This is 100% a war of choice that [Russian President] Putin has decided to wage for reasons that are not justified,” the official added. 

The Brazilian Foreign Relations Ministry released a short statement Thursday, calling for the “immediate suspension of hostilities and the beginning of negotiations” after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 

“Brazil calls for the immediate suspension of hostilities and the start of negotiations leading to a diplomatic solution to the issue, based on the Minsk Accords and that takes into account the legitimate security interests of all parties involved and the protection of the civilian population,” the Brazilian diplomacy statement said. 

Notably, the statement doesn't call Russian moves on Ukrainian territory an “invasion.” 

President Jair Bolsonaro, who met Russia's President Vladimir Putin last week and expressed “solidarity” to Russia, has not made a public statement today. 

Brazilian government's position on Russia and Ukraine doesn't seem unanimous. Talking to the press on Thursday morning, Brazil's Vice President Hamilton Mourão condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine and asked for actions beyond economic sanctions on Putin's government.

“The Western world is the same (place) as it was in 1938 with Hitler, on the basis of appeasement, and Putin did not respect the appeasement. That's the truth," Mourão said. "In my view, mere economic sanctions — which is an intermediate form of sanction — do not work.”

He also said significant action is needed by allies to provide the Ukrainians military support.

"The use of force is needed, a support for Ukraine, more than what is being put on. That's my view. If the Western world just let Ukraine falls, Bulgaria will be next, then the Baltic States, and so on. Just as Hitler's Germany did in the 1930s," he said. 

Mourão says Brazil supports Ukraine.

“Brazil is not neutral. Brazil has made it very clear that it respects Ukraine's sovereignty. So Brazil does not agree with an invasion of Ukrainian territory.”

In a joint statement following a virtual meeting Thursday, the leaders of the G7 said Russian President Vladimir Putin has "re-introduced war to the European continent."

"He has put himself on the wrong side of history," the leaders wrote.

The G7 meeting concluded after just over an hour, according to a White House official, running 9:17 a.m. to 10:27 a.m. ET.

Meeting participants, according to the White House, were President Biden, Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada, President Emmanuel Macron of France, Prime Minister Mario Draghi of Italy, Prime Minister Kishida Fumio of Japan, Prime Minister Boris Johnson of the United Kingdom, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Council Charles Michel and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

Ukraine currently does not have enough military equipment to defend itself, the country’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Vadym Prystaiko, said Thursday.

"At this particular moment, we have enough people; we don’t have enough equipment,” Prystaiko said when asked if Ukraine’s forces on the ground are capable of repelling Russia’s attack.

While speaking to reporters at the Ukrainian Embassy in London, he added that Ukraine has been open about needing military equipment, plus financial and humanitarian support from other countries. 

European Union leaders are expected to announce a package of humanitarian support for Ukraine later on Thursday as well as sanctions against Russia.

Some areas are difficult to defend, he conceded, with Russia blocking the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.

This is limiting Ukraine’s capabilities of bringing in reinforcements and supplies, he said, adding that humanitarian supplies will be needed “quite soon, quite critically” with the Russians “targeting critical infrastructure.”

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Thursday said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will have “far-reaching consequences and cannot go unpunished.” 

In a nationally-televised address in Madrid, he called on Russian President Vladimir Putin “to put an immediate end to the hostilities and revoke” Russia's recognition of territories in Ukraine. 

Sánchez said the “European Union and the rest of the allies of the union had already approved a first package of measures” against Russia and that the EU’s Council is to meet later Thursday “to define its answer to this flagrant violation of international law.” 

He called for a coordinated and unified European response and said sanctions against Russia would be the most effective approach.

The G7 meeting has concluded after just more than an hour, according to a White House official. It ran from 9:17 a.m. ET to 10:27 a.m. ET.

Meeting participants, according to the White House, were:

Russia has surrounded Ukraine from three sides, and Ukrainian locations are receiving missiles fired from land and sea, according to a senior US defense official.

These are the areas impacted:

More US military assets will arrive in Eastern European countries later today, a senior defense official told reporters on Thursday.

Six F-35s will arrive in Estonia, Lithuania and Romania today — two to each country — the official said. 

The group of attack helicopters “are on their way,” the official said, but noted there’s been “some weather issues” to get them to their locations. “We still expect those Apaches to get on site later today,” the official said.

On Tuesday, President Biden announced more US military assets would be deployed to NATO allies in Eastern Europe.  

That announcement included the movement of up to eight F-35 strike fighters from Germany to other Eastern European nations along NATO’s eastern flank, 20 AH-64 helicopters from Germany to the Baltic region and 12 AH-64 helicopters moved from Greece to Poland, a senior defense official said Tuesday.

“US troops remain outside of Ukraine,” the official added.