After months of escalating tensions, President Vladimir V. Putin took to state television on Thursday to declare the start of a “special military operation” in Ukraine.

In the prelude to the invasion and as Russian troops launched their attacks, we spoke to our colleagues on the ground as they hunkered down to cover the fighting.

Guest: Sabrina Tavernise, a national correspondent for The New York Times; Anton Troianovski, the Moscow bureau chief for The Times and Michael Schwirtz, an investigative reporter for The Times.

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Background reading:

Areas across Ukraine were under attack on Thursday morning. President Biden condemned Russia’s actions, saying that he would speak to the American people later in the day.
Why did Russia invade? Here’s what to know about the Ukraine crisis.

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