Ukraine declares martial law after Russia invasion
Explosions heard in Kharkiv, a major Ukrainian city just south of the Russian border. Russian forces fired missiles at several cities in Ukraine and landed troops on its south coast on February 24, officials and media said, after President Vladimir Putin authorised what he called a special military operation in the east. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has declared martial law, urges Ukrainians no to panic, vows vistory.
Explosions heard in Kharkiv, a major Ukrainian city just south of the Russian border. Black smoke rises from a military airport in Chuguyev near Kharkiv. (Image: AFP)
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Air raid sirens sounded in cities across Ukraine after Russian President Vladimir Putin authorised a military operation in eastern Ukraine. Russian forces fired missiles at several cities in Ukraine and landed troops on its south coast on February 24, officials and media said, after President Vladimir Putin authorised what he called a special military operation in the east. (Image: Reuters)
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has declared martial law, urges Ukrainians no to panic, vows vistory. People take shelter in a subway station, as authorities declared martial law after Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized a military operation in eastern Ukraine, in Kyiv. (Image: Reuters)
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Cars drive towards the exit of the city after Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized a military operation in eastern Ukraine, in Kyiv. Media reported that military command centres in Kyiv and the city of Kharkiv in the northeast had been struck by missiles while Russian troops had landed in the southern port cities of Odessa and Mariupol. A Reuters witness later heard three loud blasts in Mariupol. (Image: Reuters)
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Russia has demanded an end to NATO's eastward expansion and Putin repeated his position that Ukrainian membership of the U.S.-led Atlantic military alliance was unacceptable. He said he had authorised military action after Russia had been left with no choice but to defend itself against what he said were threats emanating from modern Ukraine, a democratic state of 44 million people. The full scope of the Russian military operation was not immediately clear but Putin said: "Our plans do not include the occupation of Ukrainian territories. We are not going to impose anything by force." Speaking as the U.N. Security Council held an emergency meeting in New York, Putin said he had ordered Russian forces to protect the people and appealed to the Ukrainian military to lay down their arms. (Image: Reuters)
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Military vehicles are seen on a street on the outskirts of the separatist-controlled city of Donetsk, Ukraine. Russian-backed separatists said they had launched an offensive on the Ukrainian-controlled town of Shchastia in the east, Russia's Interfax news agency said, and explosions also rocked the breakaway eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk. (Image: Reuters)
