He threatened to impose the harshest sanctions ever on Russia. He worked to galvanise US allies into a united front. He supplied Ukraine with more weapons than any American president before him. And he beefed up US forces on Nato’s eastern flank as reassurance of his commitment.

Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a ‘full-scale invasion’ of Ukraine yesterday, killing dozens and forcing thousands to flee for their lives in the pro-Western neighbour.

With oil prices hitting above $100 in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, local businesses yesterday feared that the war would have a ripple effect on their domestic and international operations as both countries are major suppliers of agricultural commodities.

A son wept over the body of his father among the wreckage of a missile strike in a residential district in the eastern Ukrainian town of Chuguiv as the country reeled yesterday from Russia’s invasion.

Although Ukrainians had been warned for weeks that war with Russia was imminent, when the attacks finally came Thursday many seemed not to know how to react.

“I was in deep sleep. It was around five in the morning. Suddenly, I felt like the whole house shook with a loud noise. As soon as I woke up, I heard sounds of a few more bombs. The doors and windows of the house were shaking.

Russian forces fired missiles at several Ukrainian cities and landed troops on its south coast on Thursday, officials and media said, after President Vladimir Putin authorised what he called a special military operation in the east.