Rubio reports full Russian invasion of Ukraine underway: 'This is it, unfortunately'

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Rubio reports full Russian invasion of Ukraine underway: 'This is it, unfortunately'

Florida senator has the latest developments on Russia-Ukraine crisis on 'Hannity.'

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., reported a full Russian invasion of Ukraine underway on "Hannity" Wednesday. 

"This is it, unfortunately," Rubio told host Sean Hannity. "In the hours to come, I think you're going to definitely see a pretty dramatic change in the event, certainly by the time the sun comes up. I mean, this is it … they've executed it … We know what comes next, and now it's just a matter of hours … When the sun comes up … people will be able to see it with their own eyes. But it is underway."

Late Wednesday evening, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian President Vladimir Putin had ordered an invasion. Earlier that day, the government warned of imminent war and began drafting reservists aged 18 to 60. 

NYT REPORTER SUGGESTS PUTIN DIDN'T TAKE MILITARY ACTION UNDER TRUMP BECAUSE HE WAS UNPREDICTABLE

US Vice President Kamala Harris and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pose for photographs before a meeting at the Munich Security Conference (MSC) in Munich, southern Germany, on February 19, 2022. (ANDREW HARNIK/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Tensions had been boiling between the West and Moscow during the former Soviet country's decision to recognize and roll into separatist regions in Eastern Ukraine. The country went into a state of emergency when the pro-Russian rebels asked for military support. Also on Wednesday evening, the UN launched an emergency meeting over an "immediate threat of Russian offensive." 

"You're already seeing incredibly heavy cyber and electronic warfare troop movements that are happening. I think what you're going to see in the next few hours with great certainty, and some of this is already probably happening in real time," Rubio said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu at the Kremlin, in Moscow on February 14, 2022.  ((Photo by ALEXEI NIKOLSKY/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images))

"I mean, it's also pretty clear that the way they've positioned themselves, they're going to try to come behind the Ukrainian troops that are in the front line there with the East and cut them off, so they can't get back to defend Kyiv. This is going to be a pretty dramatic move. I mean, these are 200,000 soldiers, the single biggest … military invasion that Europe has seen since the Second World War."

Days before, Biden said Putin was beginning an "invasion." He said the stockpiles of blood on the Ukrainian border were an imminent sign of aggressive military intentions. 

The Biden administration, along with the European Union, reportedly launched some sanctions on Russian oligarchs and banks, but withheld the most crippling sanctions pending further action from Moscow. The White House followed up with more sanctions on Nord Stream 2 pipeline, reversing a decision he made in May to lift sanctions on Nord Stream 2 AG, whose Russian parent company is Gazprom.

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Pipes for the Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea gas pipeline are stored on the premises of the port of Mukran near Sassnitz, Germany, on Dec. 4, 2020.  (Stefan Sauer/dpa via AP, File)

Some in the GOP criticized Biden's incremental, or reactionary, responses and asked the president to instead unload the mother lode of sanctions. They stressed there was little to nothing those sanctions could do to sway Putin's decision-making. 

Sen. Lindsay Graham, R-S.C., told Jesse Watters on Wednesday that there was no turning back the tides, adding that if he were president, he would declare Putin an "international war criminal" for invading its sovereign neighbor.