After a speech from Russian President Vladimir Putin announcing a military operation in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, Russia launched a large-scale invasion on Ukraine at about 5 a.m. local time.
What happened overnight
CNN teams heard explosions in and near multiple Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv, the second-largest city Kharkiv, Odessa, and distant firing from Zaporizhzhia. Images released by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office showed large explosions to the east of the capital Kyiv with huge columns of smoke rising into the air.
Ukrainian officials said more than 40 soldiers and as many as 10 civilians had been killed since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began shortly before dawn.
Response
Zelensky moved to enact martial law in his country.
“Putin began war against Ukraine, against the entire democratic world. He wants to destroy my country, our country, everything we’ve been building, everything we are living for,” he said in a Facebook message.
The European Union, United States, United Kingdom and a slew of other countries have condemned the attacks, promising to impose more sanctions on Russia.
US President Joe Biden is expected to spell out a raft of sanctions later Thursday in an address.
The Russian military released a statement Thursday claiming it was not targeting Ukrainian cities, saying “the civilian population is not at risk.”
On the ground
CNN reporters on the ground have witnessed rockets appearing to be launched from Russia to Ukraine, military vehicles headed to the country and families crowded in a subway station for shelter.
Russian airborne troops have taken control of the Antonov Airport, which is about 25 miles away from the center of Kyiv, Ukraine, according to CNN’s Matthew Chance.
The Ukrainian Interior Ministry confirmed that one Russian helicopter and three other unknown helicopters were downed in the Kyiv region.
In Kyiv and Lviv, air raid sirens have been sounded.
CNN teams across Ukraine and Russia contributed to this report.
