Russia starts invasion of Ukraine
Click on the links for our latest reports on the situation:
- Fierce air combat in Kyiv airspace
- Hungary PM Orbán condemns Russian attack on Ukraine
- Russia-Ukraine war: Ukrainians take up arms after initial shock, fight on mainland getting rough
- Belarusian President claims two NATO countries planned to "attack Russia in the back"
- NATO steps up defensive forces as response to Russia attacking Ukraine
- Ukrainian stock exchange closes, hryvnia gets fixed
- Putin reveals reason for attacking Ukraine to Lukashenko
- EU clenches fist over Ukraine invasion, massive sanctions to befell Moscow
- Hungary stands with Ukraine, says Foreign Minister Szijjártó
- EU to outline further sanctions on Russia for "military aggression" against Ukraine
- Wizz Air halts Ukrainian operations as Russia attacks
- Map of Ukrainian targets hit in Russian attack
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky introduced martial law across the country after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia will conduct a military operation in eastern Ukraine. Ukraine was just preparing to put in place a 30-day state of emergency on Wednesday.
Putin said the action comes in response to threats coming from Ukraine. He brazenly claimed his plans “don’t include occupation of Ukrainian territory, we are not going to impose anything on anyone by force.” He added that the responsibility for bloodshed lies with the Ukrainian regime.
As Putin spoke, large explosions were heard in Kyiv, Kharkiv and other areas of Ukraine.
The missile hits have already been put on a map.
Russia targeted key Ukrainian airfields east to line Kyiv-Odesa with tactical missiles, and now reports about aviation pic.twitter.com/wULQTmzGi3
— Liveuamap (@Liveuamap) February 24, 2022
To anyone who would consider interfering from outside: If you do, you will face consequences greater than any you have faced in history. All the relevant decisions have been taken. I hope you hear me,
said Putin.
He said the Russian military operation aims to ensure a “demilitarization and de-Nazification of Ukraine,” and to prevent a genocide against Russian-speakers. Putin said that all Ukrainian servicemen who lay down arms will be able to safely leave the zone of combat.
"This morning, Russia launched a new military operation against our state," Zelensky said in a message posted on the presidential website.
This is a completely groundless, cynical invasion,
he said.
"We, the citizens of Ukraine, have been determining our own future since 1991," he said in reference to the year of the Soviet Union's collapse.
"But now, what is being decided is not only our country's future, but also the future of how Europe will live."
He added that he had spoken to US President Joe Biden "just a minute ago" and that preparations for international support for Ukraine had already begun.
U.S. President Joe Biden issued an immediate condemnation.
President Putin has chosen a premeditated war that will bring a catastrophic loss of life and human suffering,
he said in a statement.
“Russia alone is responsible for the death and destruction this attack will bring, and the United States and its Allies and partners will respond in a united and decisive way. The world will hold Russia accountable.”
"Tomorrow, I will be meeting with the leaders of the G7, and the United States and our allies and partners will be imposing severe sanctions on Russia," Biden said in a statement.
Cover photo: Getty Images
