Putin launches full-scale invasion of Ukraine
Russia last night launched a full on assault on Ukraine, with cruise missile strikes reported on the airport east of Kiev amongst targets in at least a dozen other cities. At the moment, it is unclear whether it is Kiev’s military or civilian airport which has been hit; air raid sirens sounded at 7am. The city of Mariupol on the Azov sea has come under heavy shelling. Ukraine’s border guard agency said two cities – Chernihiv and Zhytomyr, in northwest Ukraine – are coming under attack.
A senior Ukrainian official has been quoted saying large numbers of of Ukrainian soldiers have already been killed. Russia has denied Ukrainian reports that five of its aircraft and one helicopter had been shot down earlier this morning. Hostilities started at 5am local time.
In a televised address, Putin has declared that his aim is to ‘demilitarise and de-Nazify’ Ukraine. He has repeated his absurd claim that ‘genocide’ is taking place in the country. In an attempt to deter other countries from intervening to prevent Russian aggression, he warned that:
“’Anyone who tries to interfere with us, or even more so, to create threats for our country and our people, must know that Russia’s response will be immediate and will lead you to such consequences as you have never before experienced in your history.’