UPDATE ON THE SITUATION – Powerful explosions were heard Thursday morning in Kiev, Kharkiv, Odessa (south) and in eastern Ukraine. Russian forces continue to gain ground in the Kyiv region.
Ukrainian air bases destroyed, planes shot down, explosions in several cities and 18 people killed near Odessa… Le Figaro takes stock this Thursday, February 24 on the situation in Ukraine, while Vladimir Putin launched a “special military operation“.
Breakthrough of Russian forces in the Kiev region
“I made the decision for a special military operationagainst Ukraine, Vladimir Putin announced at dawn on national television. In the aftermath, Russian forces entered the Kiev region from Belarus, and carried out an attack with Grad missiles on military targets.
By mid-morning, the pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, assisted by Russia, had already advanced three kilometers in the Donetsk region and one and a half kilometers in the Lugansk region. Vladimir Putin assured that Russia was aiming at military targets and that civilians had “nothing to fear“.
The Ukrainian army recently announced that fighting was underway for control of a military airport in Gostomel, near Kiev. Images on social networks show that he was apparently attacked by numerous helicopters. The situation is alsotensein the south of the country where fighting is being waged for the cities of Guenitchesk, Skadovsk and Chaplynka, in the Kherson region, near Crimea, announced Valery Zalouzhny, the head of the Ukrainian armies.
The Russian ambassador to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, clarified for his part that his country was targeting “the ruling junta in Kiev“. The Russian president’s decision immediately triggered a wave of international condemnation.
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Explosions in several Ukrainian cities
Since the beginning of the morning, powerful explosions have sounded in several cities of the country. Russian shelling was carried out near Zhytomyr, a town 150 km west of the capital. Explosions were also heard in Kramatorsk, a city in the east which serves as the headquarters of the Ukrainian army, in Kharkiv, the country’s second city, and in Odessa, on the Black Sea. In a village in the Odessa region, in southern Ukraine, “eight men and ten women were killedby military strikes according to local authorities.
On the outskirts of Kiev, images circulating on social networks show fighter jets crisscrossing the sky. In the metro of the capital, dozens of inhabitants tried to take shelter or to take a train, suitcase in hand to leave the city.
Anti-bombing sirens also sounded in Lviv, in western Ukraine, AFP journalists noted. Local residents have received messages from the regional administration calling for “keep calmand to await instructions from the authorities.
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An invasion ofgreat magnitude»?
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kouleba denounced Thursday morning a “large-scale invasionby Russia. This operation aims todestroy the Ukrainian state, seize its territory by force and establish an occupation“Alert his ministry in a press release.
In an address to the nation, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky declared martial law across the country. “Do not panic», «we will overcomehe told the Ukrainians. Ukraine has closed its airspace for civil aviation and flights have been canceled from airports in major cities in southern Russia.
Several deaths deplored on the Ukrainian side, a military plane shot down
The Ukrainian Armed Forces casualty toll rose to three dead by mid-morning, all suffered along the southern border with Crimea annexed by Moscow. Later, the State Service for Emergency Situations announced the crash of a Ukrainian military plane near Kiev. Of the 14 people on board, 5 dead have been confirmed.
The aircraft fell near the village of Trypillia, about fifty kilometers south of the Ukrainian capital, according to the same source, and was shot down by Russian soldiers according to local media.
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Russia says it destroyed 74 military installations, including 11 airfields
The Russian army claimed to have destroyed 74 military installations, including 11 airfields, in Ukraine, where Moscow launched a major military operation in the morning. “As a result of the strikes of the Russian Armed Forces, 74 land facilities of the Ukrainian military infrastructure were decommissioned. This includes 11 air force airfields“, announced on television General Igor Konashenkov, spokesman for the Russian Ministry of Defense.
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He also announced the destruction ofthree command posts, a Ukrainian naval base and 18 radar stations of the S-300 and Buk-M1 missile defense systems» Ukrainians, as well as a «attack helicopter” and “four Bayraktar TB-2 dronesof Turkish manufacture. Igor Konachenko also said that a Russian Su-25 fighter crashed “due to pilot error» and that the pilot had ejected and was «safely and in his military unit“.
Ukraine claims to have shot down five Russian planes and a helicopter
The Ukrainian army for its part claimed to have shot down in the east of the country five planes and a helicopter of the Russian army which launched a military operation against Ukraine in the morning. “Five planes and a helicopter of the aggressor were shot down“Said the staff of the Ukrainian army in a press release.
A NATO summit scheduled for Friday by videoconference
The leaders of NATO countries will meet on Friday for a summit by videoconference, while the Alliance has said it is ready to deploy additional means to ensure its defense. “Additional defensive land and air forces will be deployed in the eastern part of the Alliance, as well as additional maritime assets“, said a diplomat to AFP.