Kiev: Invasion aims to destroy Ukraine
In the night, Kremlin chief Putin orders an invasion of Ukraine. Shortly thereafter, explosions are heard in several cities. The Russian military is also reportedly attacking from the sea. The Ukrainian defense minister is combative.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has declared a state of war across the country. He announced this in a video message in the morning. Russian President Vladimir Putin had previously ordered a military operation against the neighboring country. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called the attack a “large-scale invasion”. “Peaceful Ukrainian cities are under attack. This is a war of aggression,” Kuleba wrote on Twitter this morning. The world “can and must stop Putin. It’s time to act now,” he said. “Ukraine will defend itself and win,” Kuleba continued.
The Foreign Ministry in Kiev said the Russian military operation was aimed at “destroying the Ukrainian state”. Russia also wants to seize Ukrainian territory and install “an occupation”. Kyiv called on the international community to act “immediately” to stop the “aggression” against Ukraine with a “united and strong” approach.
Explosions were heard early in the morning in several cities across the country, including the capital Kiev and the port cities of Mariupol and Odessa. AFP reporters reported at least two explosions in downtown Kiev overnight, which set off alarms on vehicles. The airspace over the capital was closed to civil air traffic. “Because of the high security risk,” the airspace was closed and air traffic stopped shortly after midnight, the infrastructure ministry said.
Explosions in numerous cities
Explosions were also heard in the port city of Mariupol on the Sea of Azov, in the Black Sea city of Odessa, as well as in Kramatorsk and on the front line to the eastern Ukrainian separatist areas. According to residents of Mariupol, which is close to the front line and the border with Russia, artillery could be heard in the eastern suburbs of the city.
Putin previously announced a “military operation” in Ukraine in a late-night televised address. “I made the decision for a military operation.” Putin called on the Ukrainian military to “lay down their arms” and threatened retaliation for any interference in the Russian operation.
According to the Interfax news agency, Russia is also attacking from the water. There are landing operations of the Black Sea Fleet in the Asvo Sea and in Odessa. The Ukrainian Pravda website quoted a representative of the Ukrainian Ministry of the Interior as saying that command centers of the Ukrainian military in the capital Kiev and the megacity Kharkiv were being attacked with rockets.
