Russian forces invade Ukraine with strikes on major cities

Moscow (Reuters)-Russian forces fired dumdums at several metropolises in Ukraine and landed colors on its seacoast on Thursday, officers and media said, after President Vladimir Putin authorised what he called a special military operation in the east.

Shortly after Putin spoke in a televised address on Russian state Television, explosions could be heard in thepre-dawn quiet of the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv.

Gunfire rattled near the capital’s main field, the Interfax news agency said, and enchantresses were heard over the megacity.

“Putin has just launched a full-scale irruption of Ukraine. Peaceful Ukrainian metropolises are under strikes,”Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Twitter.

“This is a war of aggression. Ukraine will defend itself and will win. The world can and must stop Putin. The time to act is now.”

US President Joe Biden, replying to an irruption the United States had been prognosticating for weeks, said his prayers were with the people of Ukraine”as they suffer an unprovoked and unjustified attack”, while promising tough warrants in response.

“I’ll be meeting with the leaders of the G7, and the United States and our abettors and mates will be assessing severe warrants on Russia,”Biden said in a statement.

Russia has demanded an end to NATO’s eastward expansion and Putin repeated his position that Ukrainian class of the US- led Atlantic military alliance was inferior.

He said he’d authorised military action after Russia had been left with no choice but to defend itself against what he said were pitfalls expiring from ultramodern Ukraine, a popular state of 44 million people.

“Russia can not feel safe, develop, and live with a constant trouble expiring from the home of ultramodern Ukraine,”Putin said.”All responsibility for bloodshed will be on the heart of the ruling governance in Ukraine.”

The full compass of the Russian military operation wasn’t incontinently clear but Putin said”Our plans don’t include the occupation of Ukrainian homes. We aren’t going to put anything by force.”

Speaking as the UN Security Council held an exigency meeting in New York, Putin said he’d ordered Russian forces to cover the people and appealed to the Ukrainian service to lay down their arms.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia had carried out bullet strikes on Ukrainian structure and border guards, and that explosions had been heard in numerous metropolises. An functionary also reportednon-stop cyber attacks.

Zelenskiy said that martial law had been declared and that he’d spoken by telephone to Biden. Reservists were called up on Wednesday.

Three hours after Putin gave his order, Russia’s defence ministry said it had taken out military structure at Ukrainian air bases and degraded its air defences, Russian media reported.