“The panic is beginning” in Kyiv as people rush to withdraw money from banks after Russian launched its invasion overnight.

Irish businessman Brendan Murphy, who is living in the Ukraine capital Kyiv, said people all over the city are trying to move away and find locations that are safe.

Early this morning, Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Russian had launched a “full-scale invasion”, with missiles landing in major cities and troops crossing the borders.

World leaders have condemned the Russian President Vladimir Putin for the “unprovoked and unjustified” attack – and threatened severe sanctions in response.

On Newstalk Breakfast this morning, Mr Murphy said the mood in Kyiv this morning is sombre.

“People are relocating because as you know Putin has bombed multiple cities and of course he is going to bomb substantially more,” he said.

“People are concerned about that and of course people are trying to move to locations that are safe. But then, the Ukrainian people, we have no choice, you have to fight.”

Panic

He said people are growing more concerned as the morning goes on.

“I can see now the panic is beginning,” he said. “People are trying to get money from banks and things so people are beginning to kind of do everything they can.”

Mr Murphy lives in Kiev with his wife Marina.

He has been trying to get emergency visas for himself and his family, which includes Marina’s mother and daughter, to leave the country.

He has criticised the Irish government for failing to make travel from Ukraine to Ireland visa-free as an emergency measure – something other European countries have already done.

The Irishman told Shane that his family was unable to organise visas in time and will now follow the Ukrainian Government’s advice.

Visas

“Yesterday, we tried to get the documents but my mother-in-law, who is 80, became stressed and unwell and she couldn’t walk and she fell so we needed to bring her back,” he said.

“They had offered to send someone to do the documents at her home but that is not going to happen now so the first thing we need to do is to relocate out of the city centre where the missiles will strike whenever Putin decides to bomb Kyiv and then we’ll see what we are advised to do.

“We want to follow the Government orders. The Government is very organized - very calm with good information - but obviously, systems that were relied on like taxis and public transport are not able to support anybody wanting to relocate.”

He said the family would have left days ago if Ireland had allowed them to do so visa-free.

“The window of opportunity is now very narrow because obviously there are no flights,” he said. “Obviously it is an active war zone.”

“Traffic will be potentially problematic depending on what happens next. Some roads are impassable but others are free so people are not, kind of, fleeing – but they will begin to obviously.”

Putin

He said the west created a “permissive environment” for Putin over recent years and urged government’s all over the world to immediately impose the strongest sanctions possible on Russia.

“Everything - I mean everything - every single Russian-related asset needs to be frozen and investigated regardless of the cost – because the cost being paid in Ukraine s blood and there is no currency greater than blood,” he said.

He said Ireland must “completely eliminate” all trade with Russia.

“What happens now and what happens tomorrow is more important than the past, but they do have to do something very substantive today and tomorrow before more people are killed by rockets and bombs and missiles which are coming into Ukraine and bombing cities and towns.”

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Main image shows Irish businessman Brendan Murphy with his wife Marina. Image: Facebook