Russia has greatly impacted the entire world by deciding to invade Ukraine on Feb. 24.  

Many Ukrainians were forced to seek refuge within bomb shelters and subway stations. The Russian leaders’ stated goal was to “demilitarize and de-Nazify Ukraine.”

“Because so many countries already have tension with Russia, a domino effect could spark, leading to a possible World War 3,” junior Jackson Askier said. “It could ultimately cause a new historic event that many would never forget.” 

Russia declared on Tuesday that it’s offensive for control over Ukraine’s industrial heartland was underway as it bombarded targets across the sprawling eastern front, with Ukrainian officials saying they were mounting a spirited defense.

“Another phase of this operation is starting now,” Foreign Minister Sergey V. Lavrov said, as Russia’s Defense Ministry announced that its missile and artillery forces had struck hundreds of Ukrainian military targets overnight. The strikes hit facilities in the eastern Ukraine region known as Donbas and also in the southern region of Mykolaiv, a key stronghold on the way to the Black Sea port of Odessa, Russia said.

The Pentagon estimated that Russia has already sent 11 more battalion tactical groups into Ukraine, additional forces likely to comprise 8,000 to 11,000 soldiers. It also has tens of thousands more in reserve north of Ukraine who are being resupplied and readied to join the fight, U.S. officials said.

Ukraine said that it had repulsed seven different Russian thrusts, destroying 10 tanks and 18 armored units in the battles. The claims of both militaries could not be independently verified.

Ukrainian and Pentagon officials said Russian forces appeared to be engaged in “shaping operations,” smaller attacks that are often precursors to larger troop movements, or serve as a distraction from other fronts. This campaign, they said, was likely to be much more methodical than the deep raids and rapid advances that Russia unsuccessfully attempted in the first weeks of the war.

As Russian forces pounded Ukrainian targets along much of the 300-mile frontline, for the third day in a row the Ukrainian government said that fighting in the east made it impossible to evacuate civilians, leaving hundreds of thousands trapped.

“A very large part of the entire Russian army is now focused on this offensive,” president Volodymyr Zelensky said in a speech overnight. “No matter how many Russian soldiers are driven there, we will fight.”