Russia Launches Full-Scale Invasion of Ukraine
- 2 years ago
KYIV: Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Thursday, unleashing airstrikes on cities and military bases and sending troops and tanks from multiple directions in a move that could rewrite the world’s geopolitical landscape. Ukraine’s government pleaded for help as civilians piled into trains and cars to flee.
The UN refugee agency said around 100,000 people had fled their homes in Ukraine and several thousand more had left the country since neighbouring Russia invaded early Thursday.
Invading Russian forces pressed deep into Ukraine as violence spiralled, claiming dozens of lives and raising the prospect Moscow will march on Kyiv as the West imposed punishing sanctions in response.
In a day of intense fighting, Russian missiles and shelling rained down on Ukrainian cities, forcing civilians to seek shelter on metro systems, with others displaced by deadly airstrikes.
Across Ukraine, at least 68 people were killed, including both soldiers and civilians, according to an AFP tally from Ukrainian official sources.
Moscow’s forces seized a key strategic airbase near Kyiv as well as the scene of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, a vast area still heavily contaminated with radioactive material.
Russia has “eliminated” Ukraine’s air defences and is looking to mass overwhelming forces around the capital Kyiv, a senior Western intelligence officer said in Brussels.
A Russian Antonov An-26 transport plane carrying military equipment crashed in Russia’s southern Voronezh region near Ukraine, killing all crew members on board, the defence ministry said.
Witnesses told AFP that Russian paratroopers wrested control of the Gostomel airfield after swooping in with helicopters and jets from the direction of Belarus. The airfield could now provide a strategic staging post for Russian forces to ferry in troops who could then launch an assault on government buildings and the presidency in Kyiv.
Western intelligence has said that Russia is seeking to mass “overwhelming force” around the Ukrainian capital and that Moscow has established “complete air superiority” over Ukraine.
Elsewhere, Russian ground forces moved into Ukraine from the north, south and east, forcing many Ukrainians to flee their homes as the sound of bombing reverberated. Moscow’s defence ministry said its forces had “successfully completed” their objectives for the day, earlier claiming to have destroyed over 70 Ukrainian military targets, including 11 airfields.
Fall of Chernobyl
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said there was now a “new iron curtain” between Russia and the rest of the world, like in the Cold War.
US President Joe Biden announced export controls against Russia to cut off more than half of the country’s high-tech imports, alongside sanctions on Russian elites he called “corrupt billionaires”, and banks.
He earlier said the G7 group of wealthy nations had agreed to impose “devastating” economic sanctions. Biden once again said additional US forces were n
The UN refugee agency said around 100,000 people had fled their homes in Ukraine and several thousand more had left the country since neighbouring Russia invaded early Thursday.
Invading Russian forces pressed deep into Ukraine as violence spiralled, claiming dozens of lives and raising the prospect Moscow will march on Kyiv as the West imposed punishing sanctions in response.
In a day of intense fighting, Russian missiles and shelling rained down on Ukrainian cities, forcing civilians to seek shelter on metro systems, with others displaced by deadly airstrikes.
Across Ukraine, at least 68 people were killed, including both soldiers and civilians, according to an AFP tally from Ukrainian official sources.
Moscow’s forces seized a key strategic airbase near Kyiv as well as the scene of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, a vast area still heavily contaminated with radioactive material.
Russia has “eliminated” Ukraine’s air defences and is looking to mass overwhelming forces around the capital Kyiv, a senior Western intelligence officer said in Brussels.
A Russian Antonov An-26 transport plane carrying military equipment crashed in Russia’s southern Voronezh region near Ukraine, killing all crew members on board, the defence ministry said.
Witnesses told AFP that Russian paratroopers wrested control of the Gostomel airfield after swooping in with helicopters and jets from the direction of Belarus. The airfield could now provide a strategic staging post for Russian forces to ferry in troops who could then launch an assault on government buildings and the presidency in Kyiv.
Western intelligence has said that Russia is seeking to mass “overwhelming force” around the Ukrainian capital and that Moscow has established “complete air superiority” over Ukraine.
Elsewhere, Russian ground forces moved into Ukraine from the north, south and east, forcing many Ukrainians to flee their homes as the sound of bombing reverberated. Moscow’s defence ministry said its forces had “successfully completed” their objectives for the day, earlier claiming to have destroyed over 70 Ukrainian military targets, including 11 airfields.
Fall of Chernobyl
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said there was now a “new iron curtain” between Russia and the rest of the world, like in the Cold War.
US President Joe Biden announced export controls against Russia to cut off more than half of the country’s high-tech imports, alongside sanctions on Russian elites he called “corrupt billionaires”, and banks.
He earlier said the G7 group of wealthy nations had agreed to impose “devastating” economic sanctions. Biden once again said additional US forces were n