'Explosions' reported across Ukraine as Russia orders 'special operation'
Russia reveals strike targets in Ukraine
(32 minutes later)
Blasts have been reported in several Ukraine cities, as Moscow launched a "special operation" in Donbass
Ukrainian military facilities are being hit by Russian precision weapons, the defense ministry said
A series of explosions have been reported across Ukraine, with eyewitnesses saying blasts have occurred near a number of major cities as Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an order authorizing a "special military operation" in the Donbass region.
The Russian Defense Ministry stated that the Russian military is attacking Ukrainian military facilities as part of an ongoing operation in Ukraine. Precision weapons are used against military infrastructure, air defense sites, military airfields and aircraft, a statement cited by RIA Novosti said.
Speaking from a rooftop in central Kiev on Thursday morning, CNN reporter Matthew Chance said he heard “four or five explosions” erupt in the city, though stated “I can’t explain what they are.”
The military said that Russia was not attacking Ukrainian cities, contrary to claims that say otherwise. Ukrainian civilians are not under threat, the statement said.
The report came moments after Putin announced the military operation on behalf of the newly recognized breakaway republics of Donetsk and Lugansk, where a military conflict has raged between separatist forces and the Ukrainian government for years.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that Ukrainian military sites were under attack. Speaking in a video address on his social media, he announced martial law in the country.
Some of explosions have struck Kiev’s international airport Borispol, TASS correspondent has reported. Unconfirmed claims on social media said a military section of the airport was hit by several cruise missiles. However, the mayor of Borispol, the city near Kiev that hosts the airport, said on Facebook that the blasts were the result of Ukrainian troops firing at an unidentified aircraft, “most likely a drone”. He called on residents to remain calm, saying there was no need for them to move to bomb shelters.
He called on Ukrainians to stay calm and preferably not to leave their homes. He said Ukraine was “strong” and will “defeat anyone”.
Blasts were also reportedly heard in Kharkiv, some 400km (250 miles) east of Kiev, closer to the border with the Donbass. AFP separately reported an explosion in the coastal city of Mariupol, a major port held by Kiev's forces in the Donetsk region.
Earlier on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that he had authorized a “special military operation” in Ukraine. He said the goal of the action was to “demilitarize” and “de-Nazify” Russia’s neighbor, claiming that it was the best option to protect the breakaway Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics and Russia.
An unnamed US official described the activity as “pre assault fire,” with a “land attack to follow,” according to Fox News national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin. The official reportedly added that blasts had been heard in the cities of Odessa, a major seaport at the Black Sea and Mariupol, a city on the north coast of the Sea of Azov, saying “it’s begun.”
Putin recognized the two regions as sovereign states on Monday and vowed to use Russian armed forces to protect them. The republics claim large chunks of territory controlled by Ukraine as under their sovereignty. Russia recognized those claims. On Wednesday, the two republics demanded that Ukraine pull back its troops to the border lines of what Kiev considers to be Donetsk and Lugansk regions of Ukraine, which Kiev refused to do. Leaders of the republics said Ukrainian troops continued to attack their positions and asked Russia’s help in repelling them.
Reuters journalist Idress Ali, citing a local witness, said a “series of explosions” could be heard in Belgorod, Russia, while CNN international correspondent Frederik Pleitgen claimed to hear “what sounds like outgoing artillery and rocket fire” from the same area. He later added that jets were heard over the city.
The New York Times reporter Michael Schwirtz said he witnessed a series of explosions coming from the direction of Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine. The city is part of the territory that the Donetsk People’s Republic claims as part of its territory. The Ukrainian government remained in control of it since the civil war broke out in the country in 2014.
