Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Thursday, killing dozens and forcing hundreds to flee for their livesr.   
 Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Thursday, killing dozens and forcing hundreds to flee for their livesr.   

Russian air strikes hit military facilities across the country and ground forces moved in from the north, south and east, triggering condemnation from Western leaders and warnings of massive sanctions.   

Weeks of intense diplomacy failed to deter Putin, who massed over 150,000 troops on Ukraine’s borders in what the West said was the biggest military build-up in Europe since the Second World War.   

 “I have decided to proceed with a special military operation,” Putin said in a television announcement in the early hours of Thursday.   

Shortly afterwards, the first bombardments were heard in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, and several other cities, according to AFP correspondents.   

At least 68 people were killed, including both soldiers and civilians, according to an AFP tally from various Ukrainian official sources. 

 
In the deadliest single strike reported by the authorities, 18 people were killed at a military base near Ukraine’s Black Sea port city of Odessa.   
KYIV, (AFP) February 
24, 2022

Putin will decide when Ukraine offensive ends   

Russia, (rt.com) 24 Feb, 2022 - Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has set the targets for the country’s military attack against Ukraine and he will decide when the operation ends “based on results and expediency,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday.   

The operation “has its goals and they need to be achieved,” the official said, when asked by journalists when the offensive would end.   
In his Thursday morning address, Putin said he’d ordered Russian troops to attack Ukraine to demilitarize and, as he put it, “denazify” the country. He claimed Russia’s national security was compromised by NATO encroachment in Ukraine.

Kiev tells Ankara to close two straits that Moscow relies on

Ukraine, (rt.com), 24 Feb, 2022 - Ukraine has asked Turkey to cut off Russian access to the Bosphorus  and Dardanelles straits after Moscow launched an attack on multiple  Ukrainian cities in the early hours of Thursday morning.Kiev’s  demand to suspend Russian ships’ access through the straits was conveyed  by Ukraine’s Ambassador to Turkey, Vasyl Bodnar, who also lobbied for  the closure of Turkey’s airspace to Russian planes, news agency Reuters reported. The move comes in response to Russian air and ground attacks launched on  Ukrainian military installations, airports, and cities, including the  capital, Kiev, throughout the course of Thursday. The offensive was  dubbed a ‘special military operation’ by President Vladimir Putin.