Seven are said to have been killed by Russian bombing already
Russia has officially launched a full-scale invasion of
Ukraine under order from President
Vladimir Putin.
The "special military operation" was announced by Putin in the early hours on Thursday, February 24, in which he warned the West will face "consequences never encountered in your history" should they try to intervene.
https://twitter.com/TIME/status/1496711845285187592?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1496711845285187592%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fcms.joe.co.uk%2Fwp-admin%2Fpost.php%3Fpost%3D319081action%3Dedit
Following initial reports of airstrikes and explosions across cities such as Kyiv, Podilsk, Kharkiv, Mariupol and more, an update has now confirmed that nearly
all major parts of Ukraine have been subject to Russian attacks.
This is just one of many videos online showing city skylines being lit up by the explosions and locals wake up to the sound of shelling and explosions:
https://twitter.com/nytimes/status/1496752166690000898?s=20&t=vji_qG-1XWrrn1mHMj6CJw
At least seven people have already been
confirmed dead across, with one attack in Podilsk, a city just outside Odessa, claiming six while another seven were injured. At least 19 people are also still unaccounted for.
As you can see in the unconfirmed footage below, sirens ring out and civilians watch helplessly below as squadrons made up of various types of Russian aircraft appear to fly over the city of Khariv before launching their airstrike.
https://twitter.com/jankibaat1/status/1496742470343819267?s=20&t=dwcSt0bYKnA7UBIZSBGufQ
https://twitter.com/BNONews/status/1496733983379685380?s=20&t=CEp_GTioVBzh5QJiSbjK5w
As well as shelling cities and sending military vehicles into the north and south of the country through
Belarus and (significantly) the
Crimea, respectively, Putin's operation has also been to target key military locations, with port cities, military bases and airports being hit with airstrikes.
https://twitter.com/W4RW4ATCHER/status/1496733870074519555?s=20&t=CpvkqmcRtck8Ni2BR2KC6g
https://twitter.com/christogrozev/status/1496725796534341634?s=20&t=CpvkqmcRtck8Ni2BR2KC6g
In terms of national defence, it has been reported that
one attack helicopter and five planes have managed to be taken down by the Ukrainian army.
As convoys of trucks and tanks continue to sweep through the nation, how the full-scale invasion of Ukraine is managed on the ground remains to be seen.
https://twitter.com/AFP/status/1496764635818692613?s=20&t=bt55Qlbj_5hTozgZmHUbnQ
While Putin has claimed he is had moved to defend the
Donbas region which "suffered abuse and genocide from the Kyiv regime" during the 2014 annexation. He went on to add that “the responsibility for the possible continuation of the bloodshed will lie entirely on the conscience of Ukraine’s ruling regime”.
For now, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged his people to "stay calm" and "stay home", reassuring them that "the army is working" and that the US is beginning to gather "international support."
https://twitter.com/nytimes/status/1496743100064342017?s=20&t=svrqbZPqbwwS8JNeJByl0g
Putin had already
warned that Europe would be dragged into a military conflict should
NATO decide to grant Ukraine membership into the alliance; now, the Russian leader insists the Kremlin will continue its operation "as long as necessary" as it aims to "
cleanse and liberate" Ukraine of "Nazi's".
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