LONDON —

       As explosions battered Ukraine on Thursday, grim-faced world leaders decried Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to launch an unprovoked military invasion on a continent that many thought had long ago shaken off the scourge of war.

       “President Putin of Russia has unleashed war in our European continent,” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a somber video address. “Innumerable missiles and bombs have been raining down on an entirely innocent population.”

       Joining a chorus of leaders vowing to impose harsh economic sanctions on Russia, Johnson said it was incumbent on the rest of the world to come to the aid of a “country that for decades has enjoyed freedom and democracy and the right to choose its own destiny.”

       “We, and the world, cannot allow that freedom just to be snuffed out,” he said.

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       Biden stiffens sanctions on Russia over Ukraine invasion

       President Biden announces stiffer sanctions against Moscow on Thursday over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

       In Europe in particular, officials expressed a worrisome sense that the Russian invasion posed threats far beyond Ukraine.

       “What is at stake is the stability of Europe and the whole international order,” said Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Union’s executive arm.

       Speaking at a joint news conference with the head of NATO, whose headquarters are also in Brussels, she said that the attack on Ukraine had helped unify the rest of Europe.

       “We are more united and more determined than ever,” Von der Leyen said. “We are one union, one alliance, united in purpose.”

       The sight of missiles falling across Ukraine struck a chord with leaders from Asia to Latin America — with the notable exceptions of China and smaller nations that rely on Russian aid, such as Venezuela.

       Colombian President Ivan Duque called the invasion “a threat to the stability of Europe and a threat to world peace,” and expressed concern about global economic impacts.

       Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison also castigated Russia and said his nation was issuing sanctions against Russia that would take effect Friday. “I will call it what it is: the Russian government launched a brutal invasion, unprovoked.”

       In Japan, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida condemned Russia’s “full-scale invasion” and pledged to work closely with the U.S. and other countries to hold Moscow accountable.

       “The Russian attack shakes the foundation of the international order,” Kishida said.

       Japan, which has a long-running territorial dispute with Russia near its northern prefecture of Hokkaido, said it was considering releasing oil reserves to help blunt the sharp rise in crude prices, which reached $100 a barrel for the first time since 2014.

       China, for its part, declined to condemn Russia’s actions.

       Speaking at a regularly scheduled news conference, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying refused to call the assault on Ukraine an “invasion,” saying the term is “prejudiced.”

       China’s reaction to the crisis is being closely watched because of parallels to its long-standing desire to take control of Taiwan, a self-governing island that Beijing considers a breakaway territory. China and Russia have fortified their ties in recent years, with Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping meeting this month and declaring their nations leaders in a “new era” of global order.

       Hua did not answer questions about whether China was in contact with Russia or Ukraine. She also said the conflict was the result of “various factors” and “a very complicated historical background.”

       “This is perhaps a difference between China and Westerners. We won’t go rushing to a conclusion,” Hua said.

       Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who has received vital assistance from Russia, said his country would give “its full support for President Vladimir Putin ... in his brave defense of his people and his homeland.”

       “We know that Putin is defending the right to peace and dignity of the Russian people,” he said.

       But in general, public as well as official reaction to the invasion was outrage.

       In Washington, protesters wrote “murder” in red paint on the driveway outside the Russian Embassy.

       In London, hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside Downing Street calling on the British government to do more to stop Russian aggression. Many were Ukrainians living in London who said they were “heartbroken” and “terrified” at the unfolding news, and some held signs showing an image of Putin with blood on his hands.

       On the streets of London, where some can still remember the drone of air raid sirens from World War II, the last major war in Europe more than 75 years ago, images of Ukrainians huddling in subway stations to protect themselves from bombs were deeply unsettling.

       Irina Jarrett, 72, a Russian native who lives in London, said she had to turn news of the invasion off because it was too upsetting.

       “For me, it’s devastating,” she said. “It upsets me so much. It’s just full-scale war.”

       “I don’t know how a monster like this could exist and rewrite history,” she said of Putin. “He wants a war and he will have a war.”

       Linthicum reported from Mexico City, Chu from London and Pierson from Singapore. Special correspondents Christina Boyle in London and Cecilia Sanchez in Mexico City contributed to this report.