LONDON - Russian forces have launched a full scale invasion of Ukraine this morning, following a televised speech from Vladimir Putin in which he announced a "special military operation" for the "demilitarisation and denazification" of Ukraine.
Russian ground troops have crossed the Crimea border into Ukraine after Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation” in the east of the country.
Video footage shows armoured vehicles rolling through border force checkpoints on Thursday morning. Ukraine’s border force said a number of its guards were injured.
Attacks, caused by missiles and artillery fire, have begun across Ukraine, including around the capital Kiev, and the sea ports of Odessa and Mariupol, Kharkiv and Dnipro.
Russia's defence ministry said this morning that they had "neutralised" Ukraine's air defences. Ukraine's military previously said in a statement that their air force were fighting off an air attack from Russia, but Russian claims have yet to be verified.
Ukraine has also accused Russia of moving military equipment into the country from annexed Crimea, Reuters reported.
Inside the country, airports have been shut down temporarily and secured against potential Russian aircraft landings, while Russia has closed its own airspace around the border to civilian access for the next four months.Long queues could be seen snaking along a motorway on Thursday as Ukrainians attempted to flee following the invasion.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said the government is introducing martial law on all territories of the state and urged citizens to stay at home as much as possible.
UK prime minister Boris Johnson is currently chairing an emergency government Cobra meeting and will make a statement to the House of Commons later today.
“I have summoned the Russian ambassador to meet me and explain Russia’s illegal, unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. We will be imposing severe sanctions and rallying countries in support of Ukraine”, said Liz Truss British Foreign Secretary.
Vladimir Putin has warned the international community of “consequences greater than any you have faced in history” over any attempted interference as he declared the start of an invasion into Ukraine.
Mr Putin announced what he described as a “special military operation” in the breakaway eastern Ukrainian region of Donbass, saying that Russia was responding to pleas for help from the separatists there.
Yet shortly after Mr Putin’s televised address at around 6am in Moscow, explosions were heard outside Kiev itself and heavy clashes were reported in several major Ukrainian cities.
The Ukraine government said Mr Putin had “declared war” and Russian forces were entering the country from Belarus in the north and Crimea in the south, as well as Russia to the east.
