Russian footballer Fedor Smolov opposes Ukraine's invasion, says 'no to war'

Fedor Smolov on Thursday became the first Russian international footballer to express his opposition to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. Taking to Instagram, the 32-year-old posted a black square with the caption 'No to war'. He also included a Ukrainian flag and a broken heart to his post.

Meanwhile, world leaders expressed a raw outrage shrouded by an impotence to immediately come to the aid of Ukraine to avoid a major war in Europe, condemning Russia's attack on its neighbour as the European Union and others promised unprecedented sanctions to hit the Kremlin.

NATO has moved to beef up its eastern flank facing Russia and planned a virtual leaders' summit for Friday after President Vladimir Putin warned anyone listening that any interference would "lead to consequences you have never seen in history." EU and NATO member Lithuania declared a state of emergency since the Baltic nation borders Russia's Kaliningrad region to the southwest and Russia's ally Belarus to the east.

NATO nations have 100 jets and 120 ships on high alert as deterrence. "Make no mistake: we will defend every ally against any attack on every inch of NATO territory," said NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called it a "barbaric attack" on an independent nation that also targeted "the stability in Europe and the whole of the international peace order." The EU will hold an emergency summit in Brussels.

But so far no one has promised to move in militarily and defend Ukraine as it could touch off a major European war.