‘Invasion’ of Ukraine Developments

Russia has begun a large-scale military attack on Ukraine, its southern neighbour, on the orders of Russian President Vladimir Putin. There are reports of attacks on Ukrainian military infrastructure across the country, and Russian convoys entering from all directions. Here is what we know so far:

PUTIN ORDERS ATTACK

In a televised speech at 05:55 Moscow time, Putin announced a "military operation" in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, a mainly Russian-speaking region. Putin said Russia was intervening as an act of self-defence. Russia did not want to occupy Ukraine, he said, but would demilitarise and "de-Nazify" the country. He urged Ukrainian soldiers in the combat zone to lay down their weapons and go home, but said clashes were inevitable and "only a question of time". And he added that any intervention from outside powers to resist the Russian attack would be met with an "instant" response.

RUSSIAN MILITARY OFFENSIVE

The full scope of the Russian military operation was not immediately clear. According to Ukrainian officials, the initial wave of strikes appeared to involve cruise missiles, artillery and airstrikes which struck military infrastructure and border positions, including airbases. Three hours into the attack, the Russian defence ministry was claiming to have "neutralised" Ukraine's airbases and air defences. Although most of the airstrikes were concentrated to the east, strikes were also reported in the west of Ukraine including in Lutsk and Ivano-Frankivsk. Ukrainian officials from the border guard service and elsewhere were also reporting an armoured incursion from Belarus through the Senkivka border crossing in the north of the country backed by Belarusian troops. There were also reports of Russian troops crossing the border to the east of Kharkiv and Russian armour moving into Ukraine from Crimea suggesting a three-pronged attack from north, south and east, with Reuters releasing video of Russian tanks in Mariupol. However earlier reports of an amphibious landing in Odessa were denied by some Ukrainian officials.

UKRAINE'S FIGHTBACK

The Ukrainian armed forces have said they have shot down five Russian planes and a helicopter and inflicted casualties on invading troops. However Russia's defence ministry has denied that its aircraft were shot down. Ukraine has declared martial law - which means the military takes control temporarily - and has cut diplomatic ties with Russia. President Zelensky urged Russians to protest against the invasion and said weapons would be distributed to anyone in Ukraine who wanted them. Meanwhile Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba implored the world to impose devastating sanctions, including banning Russia from the international Swift bank transfer system. The Russian attack followed the declaration of a no-fly zone for civilian aircraft in the north-east of Ukraine via a so-called Notam – notice to airmen – in the early hours of Thursday. A few hours later Ukrainian officials announced the suspension of internal civilian air traffic.

RESIDENTS SEEK SHELTER

In Kyiv there are huge jams on expressways as people flee the city. Social media testimonies speak to a growing sense of panic, with some saying they are being rushed into bomb shelters and into basements. Television footage has showed people praying in the streets. Many people in Kyiv have sought shelter in underground metro stations. There are also long queues at petrol stations and cash machines. Further east in Kramatorsk, in the eastern Donetsk region, the BBC's Eastern European Correspondent Sarah Rainsford said people did not expect such a full-on assault.