Ukrainian troops abandoned their positions in large numbers and laid down
arms, Russia's Ministry of Defense claimed in a statement Thursday.
"According to intelligence, troops and members of the Ukrainian Armed Forces
left their positions in large numbers, laid down their weapons," the Russian
Defense Ministry said, as quoted by TASS.
"No attack was carried out (Russia) against the positions of units of the
Ukrainian Armed Forces that had laid down their weapons," the Russian
Defense Ministry said.
According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Russian Armed Forces did
not fire artillery or air strikes against Ukrainian cities and only attacked
military infrastructure with precision weapons.
"Precision weapons damage military infrastructure, air defense facilities,
military aerodromes and aircraft of the Ukrainian Armed Forces," the Russian
Defense Ministry said.
Civilians were not targeted, Russia's Ministry of Defense assured.
According to Reuters, Russian troops fired missiles at several Ukrainian
cities and landed troops on the southern coast Thursday, officials and media
said, after President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation.
Shortly after Putin's announcement, explosions were heard in the Ukrainian
capital, Kyiv, before dawn. Air raid sirens sounded in the city center and
gunfire was heard near the capital's main airport, the Interfax news agency
reported.
Kyiv residents headed for underground metro stations for cover, as
authorities declared martial law in the face of what they feared was a
full-scale Russian invasion.
Ukrainian military command centers in Kyiv and the city of Kharkiv in the
Northeast were hit by missiles, a Ukrainian news website reported citing an
official. Russian troops have also landed in the Southern port cities of
Odessa and Mariupol.
