Russia launching ‘full scale invasion’ as civilians flee Ukraine
According to latest reports, the Ukranian army are fighting a full scale Russian invasion on the border of Kyiv, the nations capital.
On the outskirts of the city fighting has begun at an airfield which could become a springboard for the Russian army into Kyiv should troops seize it.
The Russian assault is being fought on several fronts after it attacked from the east, north and south on Thursday, with Russian forces now taking over the Chernobyl nuclear plant.
Kyiv has been hit by blasts, and at least one block of flats was damaged as air raid sirens continuously alert remaining citizens.
There are also reports of gunfire inside the city and on its northern outskirts, amid Ukrainian government warnings that “saboteurs” may already be operating inside the city.
Footage circulating on social media this morning apparently shows tanks driving down streets in the northern Obolon district.
The Ministry of Defence has appealed to the district’s residents to “inform us of troop movements, to make Molotov cocktails [firebombs] and neutralise the enemy” on its Facebook page.
Overnight, families began to take shelter in Kyiv’s metro stations as aerial attacks struck the city, injuring at least eight.
Ukrainian officials said there had been missile strikes on the city and a Russian aircraft had been shot down.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video released early this morning: “”They [the Russians] say that civilian objects are not targets. It is a lie. The reality is that they don’t see a difference in which areas they target.”
Officials in Ukraine have stated that at least 137 civilians and soldiers have already died in the conflict, with the UN estimating that more than 100,000 people have already fled from their homes.
President Vladimir Putin declared war in a dramatic televised address earlier this week, threatening any country attempting to interfere with “consequences you have never seen”.
Updates to follow.
(Image: OSINTtechnical/Twitter)
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