Russia and its allies from the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics launched a military operation in Ukraine on Thursday aimed at "demilitarising and denazifying" the country in the face of a security crisis of a scale unseen in Europe in decades.
The smell of blood and sounds of gunfire and wailing car alarms woke residents in Kyiv on Friday as Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine's capital city for the first time.
Those on the political left who previously ridiculed American civilians with firearms are suddenly in favor of them as Ukrainians prepare to defend themselves against Russia.
"The decision will allow to coordinate at most all authorities, regional state administrations in the conditions of martial law," said Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.
A recent poll shows that just over one-quarter of Americans want the United States to become heavily involved in the overseas conflict in Eastern Europe.
Within the next couple of months it is likely that there will be direct US military involvement in Ukraine, with Russia now openly supporting and recognizing separatist groups in the Donbass region on the eastern edge of the country and apparently moving to aid them militarily in separation.
A dozen U.S. Air Force officers have filed a lawsuit against the federal government after the military denied their religious exemptions to the mandatory COVID-19 vaccine.
