At least fifty-seven Ukrainians have been killed and 169 wounded following Russia’s invasion of the country early this morning.
This was confirmed by Ukraine’s Health Minister Viktor Lyashko who said that despite the country’s health system being currently stable, people who are able to receive outpatient care have been advised to vacate hospital beds for those who may potentially need them.
According to President of the United States of America Joe Biden, the attack by Russia on Ukraine was premeditated.
President Biden said that Russia’s President Vladimir Putin had moved 17,500 troops and military equipment to Ukraine’s borders as well as brought blood supplies and built field hospitals prior to the attack early Thursday morning.
Sanctions by the US
Following the attack, Biden announced several sanctions on Russia.
He said that the US will stop Russia’s ability to finance and grow its military, stating that it will impair Russia’s ability to compete in the high tech 21st Century economy.
Outlining the economic consequences of the invasion already, Biden pointed to the Russian rouble hitting its weakest level ever and the Russian stock market plunging today
“We’ve now sanctioned Russian banks that together hold one trillion dollars in assets,” Biden stated.
He added, “We’ve cut off one of Russia’s largest banks, which holds one-third of the country’s banking assets.”
Sanctions by the UK
Meanwhile, Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Thursday that major Russian banks will be excluded from the United Kingdom (UK) financial system and added that oligarchs have also been targeted.
Prime Minister Johnson made the comments in the House of Commons where he said the sanctions were “the largest and most severe package of economic sanctions that Russia has ever seen”.
In addition, Russia’s national airline Aeroflot will also be banned from landing in the UK.