Emergency sirens sounded around Kyiv on Thursday (24/2) morning. Ukraine's defense ministry said military units, military control centers and air bases in eastern Ukraine were under intense Russian attack.
The Ukrainian military said the Ukrainian Air Force was trying to repel Russian air strikes. But, they added, reports that Russian troops landed in Odessa are not true.
While the Ukrainian border guards stated that Ukraine was under Russian artillery fire and a ground invasion along the North and South borders, and Ukrainian troops returned fire.
They added that Russian troops had the support of the Belarusian military and an attack had been launched from Crimea, the Russian-occupied peninsula on the southern side of Ukraine.
"Attacks on border units, border detachments and checkpoints were carried out using artillery, heavy equipment and light weapons," Ukraine's border guards said in a statement.
"There were also attempts at enemy sabotage and reconnaissance group activities," they added.
The statement came as a Ukrainian Interior Ministry official reported that the formerly Ukrainian-controlled town of Shchastya, on the eastern front with rebel-held enclaves, had fallen to the rebels.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday that Russia was attacking his country's military infrastructure and border guards, but urged citizens not to panic and vowed to win.
Citing Channel News Asia, in a video message posted on Facebook after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the launch of a military operation against Ukraine, Zelensky imposed martial law across the country.
“Ukrainian Armed Forces, all specialized agencies and state law enforcement are on alert. The National Security and Defense Council is working in an emergency mode," reads a statement on the Zelensky website. "Military emergency will be imposed".
