“We are in touch with President Zelenskyy and we are working to provide him a range of support,” Psaki told a press briefing on Thursday.

In the early hours on Thursday, Russia launched a special operation after the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk requested assistance to defend themselves from ongoing attacks by Ukrainian troops.

The Russian Defense Ministry said the operation is targeting the military infrastructure of Ukraine and the civilian population is not in danger. Moscow says it has no plans to occupy Ukraine.