Economy 24 February 2022, 1:46pm

Russia-Ukraine war: Ukrainians take up arms after initial shock, fight on mainland getting rough

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In the morning, the Ukrainian army seemed to be shocked into stupor by the Russian attack, but by early afternoon, heavy fighting had broken out in several strategic regions. The Ukrainians are putting up increasingly serious resistance, and it now looks as if the ideal scenario for the Russians of taking the whole country without any meaningful battle will not materialise.

Russia hacked into and paralysed Ukraine's IT infrastructure last night and this morning bombarded the country's military installations with ballistic and cruise missiles. Shortly afterwards, a ground offensive was launched, which for a time was able to advance with minimal resistance.

Now, in the early afternoon, it seems that Ukrainian forces in several regions are showing increasing resistance. At the beginning of the offensive, the Donetsk and Luhansk regions were the most violent areas of clashes, where the separatists were also helping the Russian invasion. Clashes were particularly fierce around Shchastia and Avdiivka, with the former settlement retaken by the Ukrainians, who claimed to have killed 50 Russian/separatist fighters and neutralised two combat vehicles.

Shchastia is still engulfed in battle. The following recording shows, according to various sources, Russian troops attacking the settlement (separatists don a similar uniform by the way).

Ukrayna'nın sabah saatlerinde
— Odatv (@odatv) February 24, 2022

In the morning, there were also reports that Russian forces had easily reached Kharkiv, but the city did not seem to have been taken yet. Fighting is still raging around Ukraine's second largest city, but there is relatively little footage of it now.

The video below was filmed 30 kilometres from Kharkiv, showing a fired Ukrainian BTR-4 and a demolished Russian Tigr 4x4, which somewhat contradicts the claim that the Russians reached the city "without firing a shot".

Footage from Kharkiv (geolocation need) shows destroyed Russian equipment on the road. pic.twitter.com/zqyGlRtUOf
— Odatv (@odatv) February 24, 2022

There is also a video circulating on the Internet of the body of a Russian soldier lying around tanks that have been taken out, but we are not publishing the video, allegedly taken on the outskirts of Kharkiv, out of common decency.

The following recording, also allegedly made at Kharkiv, shows a T-80 tank destroyed by the Ukrainians with a US Javelin anti-tank missile.

Destroyed Russian tank near Kharkov city. Reportedly targeted by an Ukrainian Javelin anti-tank missile. pic.twitter.com/dhCUTddNv3
— Odatv (@odatv) February 24, 2022

While the Russians stated this morning that they had dismantled Ukrainian air defences, Ukraine claims that they have already shot down six Russian fixed-wing and two rotary-wing helicopters. The latter were probably shot down by man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS or MPADS), i.e. portable surface-to-air missiles.

One of the aircraft shot down was a Ka-52 attack helicopter, which was hit near Hostomel (or Gostomel) in the Kyiv agglomeration.

В оптиці видно збитий Ка-52 в Гостомелі. https://t.co/8NToUZRO9s
— Odatv (@odatv) February 24, 2022

According to Ukrainian sources, the airport in Hostomel is under attack, and some "Russian saboteurs" have reportedly been detained by the Ukrainian authorities.

Идёт прорыв десанта на аэродром Гостомеля. Есть первые сбитые вертолеты противника и задержанные силами МВД диверсанты.
— Odatv (@odatv) February 24, 2022

This video allegedly shows the fighting at Hostomel::

Heavy fighting in Gostomel. pic.twitter.com/uLLUF4n4gJ
— Odatv (@odatv) February 24, 2022

Ez úgyszintén:

Fighting near Hostomel Airport near (via ) #Kyiv
— Odatv (@odatv) February 24, 2022

It seems that the reports this morning that the Russian navy had landed in Odessa were not true. According to recent footage, Ukrainian forces are still in control of the city. However, it seems that most of the Ukrainian navy has indeed been destroyed.

Ukrainian military in the city #Odessa
— Odatv (@odatv) February 24, 2022

The Ukrainian forces also reported that two prisoners of war were taken: the soldiers are members of the mechanised infantry regiment "Jampol" No. 91701. They did not say where they were captured.

Головнокомандувач ЗС України генерал-лейтенант Валерій Залужний: https://t.co/wPxsUnxGH7
— Odatv (@odatv) February 24, 2022

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recently appealed to the Ukrainian population, promising to give weapons to anyone who wants to fight the Russians.