Russia-Ukraine updates: US to ban Russian carriers from its airspace

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Russian President Vladimir Putin’s early morning attack on Ukraine is a “full-scale invasion” and added that the world needs to respond immediately.

“Putin has just launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine,” Kuleba tweeted. “Peaceful Ukrainian cities are under strikes. This is a war of aggression. Ukraine will defend itself and will win. The world can and must stop Putin. The time to act is now.”

As the late-night meeting of the U.N. Security Council came to a close amid a Russian attack on Ukraine, the Ukrainian ambassador directly addressed his Russian counterpart.

"There is no purgatory for war criminals," Ukrainian Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya told Russian Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya. "They go straight to hell, ambassador."

With that, Nebenzya, the council’s current president, adjourned the meeting.

-ABC News' Conor Finnegan

As reports of explosions came in from multiple Ukrainian cities, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg issued a statement condemning “Russia’s reckless and unprovoked attack.”

Booms and explosions have been heard in Kyiv -- Ukraine’s capital, which is in the north-central part of the country -- as well as Dnipro in central Ukraine and Odessa in the southwest.

“I strongly condemn Russia’s reckless and unprovoked attack on Ukraine, which puts at risk countless civilian lives,” Stoltenberg said. “Once again, despite our repeated warnings and tireless efforts to engage in diplomacy, Russia has chosen the path of aggression against a sovereign and independent country.”

Stoltenberg said NATO allies would meet to talk about consequences of Russia’s “aggressive” actions.

“This is a grave breach of international law and a serious threat to Euro-Atlantic security,” he said. “I call on Russia to cease its military action immediately and respect Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

President Joe Biden released a statement calling Russian President Vladimir Putin’s military operation in Ukraine an "unprovoked and unjustified attack by Russian military forces."

"President Putin has chosen a premeditated war that will bring a catastrophic loss of life and human suffering," Biden said. "Russia alone is responsible for the death and destruction this attack will bring, and the United States and its Allies and partners will respond in a united and decisive way. The world will hold Russia accountable."

Biden said he would be monitoring the situation from the White House.

On Thursday, he will meet with his "G7 counterparts" -- leaders from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom -- and then will give an address to announce "further consequences" on Russia "for this needless act of aggression against Ukraine and global peace and security," he said.

Additionally, Biden said, the U.S. will coordinate with NATO allies "to ensure a strong, united response that deters any aggression against the Alliance."