Russian forces have invaded Ukraine in a “full-scale” assault by land, sea and air – in what is the biggest attack by one country on another in Europe since World War Two.
Ukraine reported troops pouring across the borders with Russia and Belarus from the north and east, and landing on the coasts from the Black Sea in the southwest and Azov Sea in the southeast on Thursday.
Ukraine’s armed forces believe more than 60 Russian battalion tactical groups – the equivalent of 30,000-60,000 troops – have been deployed on Ukrainian territory, according to an update which claimed the “enemy has an extremely low morale”.
The military said Russia aims to block the capital Kyiv and create a land corridor on Ukraine’s southeastern coast towards Crimea – which Moscow annexed in 2014 – and the Transdniestria region of neighbouring Moldova that is held by pro-Russian separatists.
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Video appears to show missile strike
Ukraine ‘attacked from Russia, Belarus and Crimea’ – latest live updates
President Vladimir Putin’s forces have seized control of the former Chernobyl nuclear power station near Pripyat, around 60 miles from the capital Kyiv, following fierce clashes with government forces, according to the Ukrainian prime minister Denys Shmyhal.
It was the site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster in 1986 when a reactor exploded, and an adviser to the presidential office, Mykhailo Podolyak, said: “It is impossible to say the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is safe after a totally pointless attack by the Russians.”
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Video appears to show missile aftermath
Key developments at a glance: 57 Ukrainians and 50 Russian troops reportedly killed Estimated 100,000 Ukrainians believed to have left their homes, says UN PM unleashes UK’s ‘largest set of sanctions ever’ on Russia New US sanctions announced and 7,000 troops heading to Germany Ukrainian president: Russian attack ‘like fascist Germany in WWII’
There has been fighting at an airport about 20 miles from Kyiv, as well as heavy exchanges of gunfire in several other cities – with the US saying it believes the invasion was designed to “decapitate” the government.
And a decree has been signed by Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ordering the mass mobilisation of conscripts and reservists over the next 90 days.
Missiles rained down on Ukrainian cities after Mr Putin ordered a “specialised military operation” in the early hours.
Explosions were heard in Kyiv, along with Kharkiv in the east, and Odessa in the south.
Russia said its military had destroyed 83 Ukrainian land-based targets, including at least 11 air bases, and had achieved all its goals for Thursday.
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‘Russian flag’ at Ukraine power plant
The defence ministry in Moscow said it was not targeting cities, but using precision weapons, claiming that “there is no threat to the civilian population”.
However, dozens of civilians have reportedly been killed during the offensive. Ukraine’s health minister Oleh Lyashko said 57 people had died and 169 others wounded.
At least 203 attacks have been carried out throughout the entire country, according to Ukrainian police.
Ukrainian forces downed two Russian helicopters and seven other Russian aircraft and destroyed several Russian trucks, and a platoon from Russia’s 74th Motor Rifles Brigade has surrendered, said Ukraine’s US ambassador, Oksana Markarova.
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Russia has launched three main axes of assault
What’s happening on the ground
A US official said Russian forces were moving on three fronts – from annexed Crimea to Kherson in the south, from Belarus – north of Ukraine – towards Kyiv, and from the northeast to Kharkiv.
The official said as part of the “first phase” of the assault, more than 100 missiles were launched from land and sea, primarily short-range ballistic missiles, but also medium-range ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and surface-to-air missiles.
The main targets were barracks, ammunition warehouses, and airfields, before ground forces moved in.
Ukraine reported columns of troops penetrated its borders into Chernihiv, Kharkiv and Luhansk in the east, and landed by sea at the cities of Odessa and Mariupol in the south.
Russia’ defence ministry said its ground forces moved into Ukraine from Crimea, the first confirmation from Moscow that its ground forces had gone in, advancing towards Kherson.
In the early hours of the morning, President Putin launched a major unprovoked assault on Ukraine, firing missiles on cities and military targets. The invasion came despite weeks of Russian claims that they had no intention of invading. #StandWithUkraine pic.twitter.com/KltWqYMvdD
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) February 24, 2022
‘Heavy exchanges of fire in a number of cities across Ukraine’
Fierce fighting has been taking place in Sumy and Kharkiv in the northeast, Kherson in the south, and at the Hostomel international cargo airport near Kyiv, an adviser to the Ukrainian presidential office said.
The long runway could be used by Russia to fly large numbers of troops into the country.
There have been conflict reports about which side currently controls it, with a Ukrainian official saying the airfield had been recaptured.
Border units, border patrols and checkpoints were targeted with artillery, heavy equipment and small arms fire, Ukraine’s border agency said.
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A resident stands in an apartment that was shelled in Kharkiv
‘Sound of a new Iron Curtain’
President Zelenskyy said a difficult situation was developing in the country’s second-largest city Kharkiv, about 12 miles from the Russian border, while in the north the Russians were slowly advancing towards Chernihiv.
He warned: “What we have heard today are not just missile blasts, fighting and the rumble of aircraft. This is the sound of a new Iron Curtain, which has come down and is closing Russia off from the civilised world.”
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Civilians cowering in fear in Mariupol
‘At least 40 Ukrainian soldiers killed’
Ukraine’s leadership said at least 40 Ukrainian soldiers were killed in what it called a “full-scale war” targeting the country from three sides.
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A map of Ukraine showing where some of the attacks have taken place
At least 18 people were killed in a missile attack in the southern region of Odessa, according to regional authorities.
And at least six others died in Brovary, a town near Kyiv, said its mayor.
Ukraine reported five people were killed when a military plane was shot down.
In Kharkiv, a boy was killed after an apartment building was shelled.
In the breakaway Donetsk region, where Ukraine government forces have been battling Russian-backed separatists for years, Russian forces struck a hospital, killing four people, according to local Ukrainian leaders.
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Sirens sound over Kyiv
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Airport in Ukrainian city is on fire
Ukraine ‘kills 50 Russian soldiers’
Ukraine’s military said it destroyed four Russian tanks on a road near Kharkiv, and killed 50 soldiers near a town in the breakaway Luhansk region.
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Watch and hear big Ukraine explosion
Martial law has been introduced in Ukraine with people being urged to stay home as much as possible and not panic. The country said it is facing non-stop cyber attacks and has closed its airspace to civilian flights.
In Kyiv, queues of people waited to withdraw money and buy supplies of food and water. Cars stretched for dozens of miles on the highway leading west towards Poland, where Western countries have prepared to receive hundreds of thousands of refugees.
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Huge traffic jam as people flee Kyiv
Read more:What is Putin thinking?What is happening in Ukraine?How does Ukraine’s military compare to Russia’s?
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Putin announces ‘military operation’
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”.
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Blasts recorded on the outskirts of Kharkiv
“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.”
