Russia launches invasion of Ukraine as 40 soldiers dead in Putin ordered ‘specialised military operation’
KUMASI, 24th February, (Futball Surgery)– Russia has finally launched a full scale invasion of Ukraine after President Vladimir Putin ordered a “specialised military operation”.
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Ukraine says its cities are under attack as explosions were heard in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Odessa.
Russia has launched an invasion of Ukraine after President Vladimir Putin ordered a “specialised military operation”.
Explosions were heard in the capital Kyiv, Kharkiv and Odessa, and Sky News understands that borders have been breached in at least four areas of Ukraine.
Ukraine said it was hit by two waves of missile strikes – one shortly after Mr Putin’s announcement and another mid-morning.
Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba described the assault as a “full-scale invasion” that is not just in the eastern part of the country, but “from multiple directions”.
“Peaceful Ukrainian cities are under strikes,” he said. “This is a war of aggression. Ukraine will defend itself and will win. The world can and must stop Putin. The time to act is now.”
What’s happening on the ground
Ukraine’s leadership said at least 40 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed and at least several dozen wounded in what it called a “full-scale war” targeting the country from the east, north and south.
Ukraine reported columns of troops pouring across its borders into the eastern Chernihiv, Kharkiv and Luhansk regions, and landing by sea at the cities of Odessa and Mariupol in the south.
At least 203 attacks have been carried out throughout the entire country today, according to Ukrainian police.
Armed forces are fighting hard in the face of a massive Russian artillery bombardment of infrastructure facilities, an adviser in President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s office said.
The Russian defence ministry said it was not targeting cities, but using precision weapons and claimed that “there is no threat to the civilian population”.
A Ukrainian military plane was shot down and five people were killed, Ukrainian authorities said.
The armed forces said at least 50 Russian soldiers were killed, with Russian tanks and planes shot down – but Russia disputes this.
Heavy fighting is going on in eastern Ukraine and around the Sumy, Kharkiv, Kherson and Odessa regions, an adviser to Ukraine’s presidential office said.
Explosions heard in Kyiv amid ongoing fighting nearby
The Russian military is trying to break into the Kyiv region, according to Ukraine’s border guard.
Explosions were witnessed by Sky News both in and around Kyiv.
Air raid sirens went off in the city.
Fierce fighting is under way close to Gostomel military airport, which is near Kyiv, according to an adviser to the president.
Ukraine’s state emergency service said its ammunition depot in Kyiv was on fire and that it has disabled its website temporarily due to a cyber threat.
At least six people were killed in the nearby city of Brovary, according to the mayor.
Kharkiv, Lviv and Mariupol targeted
At least18 people were killed in a missile attack in the southern region of Odessa, according to regional authorities.
In Kharkiv, a city in the east, a boy was killed after an apartment building was shelled.
Earlier Sky’s John Sparks heard distant thuds that sound like artillery on the outskirts of the city and said there was little sign of the Ukrainian military.
Shelling in the Lviv region has been reported by the Ukraine emergency service.
Blasts have been reported in Mariupol, a southern port city less than 20km from the nearest trenches in the Donbas region.
Ukrainian tanks were seen heading to the city by Reuters news agency and an airport there caught fire.
Five Russian planes and one helicopter were shot down over the Luhansk region, according to the Ukrainian military.
Martial law introduced as Ukrainian border attacked
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy introduced martial law, urging people to stay home as much as possible and not panic.
He said Russia carried out missile strikes on border guards in addition to targeting Ukraine’s military infrastructure.
Military command centres were reportedly hit by the air attacks, according to Ukrainska Pravda news outlet which cited an interior ministry official.
The Russian military attacked the border from neighbouring Belarus as well as annexed Crimea, according to Ukraine’s border agency.
Border units, border patrols and checkpoints were targeted with artillery, heavy equipment and small arms, it said.
Ukraine said it is facing non-stop cyber attacks.
People have started fleeing some cities and the country has closed its airspace to civilian flights.
Putin’s justification
In a television address announcing the “specialised military operation” in the Donbas region, Mr Putin claimed the attack was needed to protect people subjected to “genocide”.
He accused the US and its allies of ignoring Russian demands to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO.
He claimed that Russia does not intend to occupy Ukraine but was aiming for the country’s “demilitarisation” and “de-Nazification”.
“Whoever would try to stop us and further create threats to our country, to our people, should know that Russia’s response will be immediate and lead you to such consequences that you have never faced in your history,” he said.
“We are ready for any outcome.”
