Strong explosions were reported from the Ukrainian capital Kiev, the port city in eastern Ukraine Mariupol and other parts of the country. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said Russian President Vladimir Putin had launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that war was declared on the entire country.
During a televised stage, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia had no intention of occupying Ukraine and that Ukrainians would be free to decide who would lead the country.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said the targets of the Russian military’s attacks were military infrastructure, anti-aircraft defense systems and the air force.
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Shortly before 7:00 AM (local time), the Ukrainian military said that an air defence had shot down a Russian military plane in the east of the country. He also claims that they shot down five Russian planes and one helicopter in the Luhansk region, but Russia denies this.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian airspace and parts of Russian airspace have been closed for commercial aviation. European Union Safety Agency EASA discourages using Ukrainian airspace until at least 2 March.
A call for an anti-coalition force has launched to start immediate actions against Russia.