LAST UPDATE: 13.12
A widespread Russian offensive has been under way in Ukraine since Thursday morning, following a military operation in the east of the country ordered shortly before 5 a.m. (Greek time) by Russian President Vladimir Putin, to defend what he claimed were the occupied territories. of the separatists. “I have decided to launch a military operation,” he said in an emergency televised address.
At 8.20 he announced the start of the first wave of the Russian attack, while according to what was broadcast by Reuters, around 13.00 a second wave started.
Authorities in Ukraine’s southern Odessa region said on Thursday that 18 people had been killed in a rocket attack. At least six people have been killed in the Ukrainian city of Brovary, near the capital Kiev, city officials say.
A boy has been killed in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv after a bomb blast hit an apartment building, Ukraine’s emergency services have said. A spokesman for the Ukrainian presidency said more than 40 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed and dozens more wounded.
The Ukrainian army said today it had killed nearly 50 “Russian occupiers” in the eastern part of the country in the Luhansk region, shot down a total of six Russian warplanes in the same area and destroyed four Russian tanks on a road near Kharkov. Russia, for its part, denies reports that its planes or tanks have been destroyed.
In a separate statement, the Ukrainian border guard announced that Russian military convoys crossed the Ukrainian border – mainly from the Crimean peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014 – and entered Chernihiv, Kharkiv and Lugansk.
“Russian military vehicles, including armored vehicles, violated the border in the Chernihiv region (north, on the border with Belarus), Sumy (northeast), Luhansk and Kharkiv (east)” from the crossing point between ) and mainland Ukraine, the border guard explained, posting a video showing vehicles bearing the letter “G”.
Russian troops have reached the outskirts of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, and set up checkpoints on a main road on Thursday morning, according to videos posted on the Telegram and NYT. It appears to be the farthest point Russian troops have been spotted penetrating Ukraine.
President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko has stated on Thursday that troops from the country could take part in the Russian military operation against Ukraine, if necessary, as reported by the Belta news agency, according to Reuters.
Military equipment entering Ukraine in the video from cameras installed at the Belarusian-Ukrainian checkpoint “Senkovka-Veselovka”. These are: the TOS-1A “Solntsepyok”, at least 4 T-72B tanks, at least 8 MT-LB tractors, and Ural truck
All equipment is marked with “O”. pic.twitter.com/3oIg0zAVuo– MotolkoHelp (@MotolkoHelp) February 24, 2022
Ukraine has cut off diplomatic relations with Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has since said.
At the same time the pro-Russian separatist guerrillas in eastern Ukraine posted an announcement on social media in which they report that they shot down two Ukrainian Air Force planes in the self-proclaimed People’s Republic of Luhansk.
Moscow announced that it had closed the Sea of Azov to navigationwhich bathes Russia and Ukraine, in which Russian forces launched a military operation this morning, Russian news agencies reported.
Operations in Ukraine’s seaports have been suspended by the country’s military, Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior Ukrainian presidency official, said on Thursday. Operations on the Ukrainian railways continue, he added.
The Russian military says Moscow-backed separatist forces in eastern Ukraine are advancing and gaining ground. Military spokesman Igor Konashenkov told state television that “Donetsk People’s Republic” forces had “gained up to three kilometers” on the ground and those of the “Luhansk People’s Republic” had “advanced one and a half kilometers”. He added that Russia has “high-precision weapons” and that Ukrainian civilians have “nothing to fear”.
The head of the Ukrainian army said on Thursday that he had received an order from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to repel the Russian invasion of his country. “The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has ordered us to inflict maximum casualties on the attacker,” said Lt. Gen. Valeriy Zaluzhny, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said today that anyone ready and capable of carrying a weapon could join the ranks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Reserve Division, as police announced that they would distribute weapons to veterans.
Justifying the invasion, Putin said his country could not tolerate the threats, as he described them, from Ukraine and warned against any foreign interference, noting that if there was Moscow would respond immediately, Russian news agencies reported.
He said the conditions required decisive action by Russia and assured that the aim was not to impose occupation. He demanded that the Ukrainian soldiers lay down their arms and go home, noting that the operation was aimed at protecting the people of eastern Ukraine.
Vladimir Putin added that the “Ukrainian regime” will be responsible for any bloodshed that follows.
Minutes after the Russian president spoke, reporters reported that they heard artillery shelling near Kiev and fire in the area of Borispil airport.
! Ukraine’s central military command reports Russia bombed several airports, including Kyiv Boryspil, Nikolaev, Kramatorsk, Kherson. Kharkiv military airport is burning. pic.twitter.com/IOrfGZgPL4
– Christo Grozev (@christogrozev) February 24, 2022
Explosions in Kiev
A reporter for the American television network Fox News reports that explosions are heard in Kiev, minutes after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that he approved the conduct of a military operation in Ukraine.
Sirens sounded around Kiev on Thursday morning, and the country’s defense minister said Ukrainian units, military control centers and airports in eastern Ukraine were receiving Russian bombardment.
The army said the Ukrainian air force was trying to repel a Russian air strike.
image from the Ukrainian President’s office sent to CNN’s @mchancecnn following the loud explosions the team heard on the ground in #Kyiv #Ukraine pic.twitter.com/IpJTDdmSCc
– Michael Holmes (@holmescnn) February 24, 2022
Meanwhile, international media are broadcasting images showing car queues with Ukrainians trying to leave the capital.
An aerial view of the traffic leaving Kyiv pic.twitter.com/m4DEt5UXIk
– The Recount (@therecount) February 24, 2022
“The air defense means of the Ukrainian armed forces have been neutralized,” Interfax news agency reported, citing the Russian Defense Ministry. “The military infrastructure of the air bases of the Ukrainian armed forces has been destroyed,” the agency added.
BREAKING: Air raid sirens wail across Ukraine’s capital pic.twitter.com/jclNZ5h7kx
– BNO News (@BNONews) February 24, 2022
Explosions in Mariupol
Strong explosions were also heard in Mariupol, a city with a strategic port in eastern Ukraine, shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that he had approved a military operation, AFP reports.
It is the largest city on the front line, with half a million inhabitants.
BREAKING: Air raid sirens wail across Ukraine’s capital pic.twitter.com/jclNZ5h7kx
– BNO News (@BNONews) February 24, 2022
Donetsk and Luhansk separatists say Ukrainian forces are leaving their positions
The Russian military says Moscow-backed separatist forces in eastern Ukraine are advancing and have gained ground.
Russian military spokesman Igor Konashenkov told state television that “Donetsk People’s Republic” forces had “gained up to three kilometers” on the ground and those of the “Lugansk People’s Republic” had “advanced one and a half kilometers”.
He added that Russia has “high-precision weapons” and that Ukrainian citizens have “nothing to fear”.
Ukrainian troops across the line of contact are massively refusing to follow orders and are leaving their positions, the Lugansk militia claimed earlier, according to Russia’s Ria Novosti news agency.
The leader of the “Luhansk People’s Republic” said that the Ukrainian army is laying down arms.
Donetsk, for its part, said it was conducting a successful offensive near Mykolayivka, with the Ukrainian Armed Forces suffering casualties and leaving their positions.
The headquarters of the Ukrainian Allied Forces operation in Donbas has been virtually destroyed, Donetsk “democracy” leader Denis Pushilin told Russia’s Rossiya 24 television channel.
“We can state along the line of contact that there are almost no strikes on Donetsk territory, the enemy firing points have been destroyed,” he said.
At least five powerful explosions were heard in the early hours of this morning in the separatist city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, a correspondent for the international news agency Reuters reports.
After the explosions, military vehicles were seen moving towards the place from where they were heard, according to the same source.
Russia’s Defense Ministry announced today that the Russian armed forces are hitting military infrastructure in Ukraine with high-precision weapons, in particular air defense arrays, military airfields and aircraft.
The ministry said it was not targeting artillery or rocket attacks on cities or civilian areas.
Russia launched ballistic missile towards Ukraine pic.twitter.com/ZsDV4gT684
– Fuad Alakbarov (@DrAlakbarov) February 24, 2022
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba announced today that a “large-scale invasion” has begun by Russia and that strikes are being reported in various parts of the country.
“Peaceful cities of Ukraine are under attack. This is an aggressive war. Ukraine will defend and win. The world can and must stop [πρόεδρο της Ρωσίας Βλαντίμιρ] Putin. “Now is the time for action,” the Ukrainian diplomat said on Twitter.
Alarm bells rang in Lviv, west
Alarm bells rang this morning in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin approved a military operation in the country.
Residents of the city have received messages from the regional authorities to “keep calm” and wait for instructions.
🚨 Air Raid sirens in my home city Lviv in #Ukraine. Lviv is located approximately 50 miles from Poland. pic.twitter.com/7kuD8KKF54
– Ostap Yarysh (@OstapYarysh) February 24, 2022
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