PUTIN STARTS WAR. Explosions are heard in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Mariupol and other cities of Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin issued an emergency address to the Russians at 4 a.m. and announced the launch of a "special military operation."
This was stated in a broadcast conducted by the Russia 24 channel.
Putin said he made his decision after he was approached by the leaders of the self-proclaimed "republics" in Donbas.
"I have decided to conduct a special military operation. Its goal is to protect people who have been subjected to harassment and genocide by the Kyiv regime for eight years.Russian President Vladimir Putin issued an emergency address to the Russians at 4 a.m. and announced the launch of a "special military operation."
This was stated in a broadcast conducted by the Russia 24 channel.
Putin said he made his decision after he was approached by the leaders of the self-proclaimed "republics" in Donbas.
"I have decided to conduct a special military operation. Its goal is to protect people who have been subjected to harassment and genocide by the Kyiv regime for eight years, including Russian citizens," he said.
Putin addressed the Russian military and said that he was sure that "the servicemen loyal to Russia will perform their duties professionally and courageously, and all levels of government will act in concert."
Residents of a number of Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv, Kharkiv, Berdiansk, Odesa, Mariupol, Zhytomyr, and Boryspil, report on social media the sounds of explosions and shots fired around 5 a.m.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba announced on Twitter that Russian President Vladimir Putin has launched a full-scale war against Ukraine. "Peaceful Ukrainian cities are under strikes. This is a war of aggression. Ukraine will defend itself and will win. The world can and must stop Putin. The time to act is now," he wrote.
Putin has just launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Peaceful Ukrainian cities are under strikes. This is a war of aggression. Ukraine will defend itself and will win. The world can and must stop Putin. The time to act is now.
— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) February 24, 2022
Journalist Andrii Tsaplienko writes that "strategic objects of Kyiv are being shelled with cruise and ballistic missiles."
Adviser to the Minister of Internal Affairs Anton Herashchenko writes that the missile strikes took place at the centers of the Military Administration, airfields, and military depots in Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Dnipro. Artillery shelling of the border is also reported.
In a comment to Ukrainska Pravda, Oleksii Danilov, secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, said that the president was convening a meeting of the National Security and Defense Council to impose martial law.
