Shortly before dawn and minutes after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “military operation” in Ukraine early Thursday, Russia launched attacks on major cities and airports across Ukraine, shelling more than a dozen cities and towns and crossing the border in multiple locations.
On the first day of the invasion, Ukraine’s Ministry of Internal Affairs reported nearly 400 instances of shelling by Russian forces and 100 Russian-launched missiles fired from land and sea. Multiple explosions were reported around Ukraine, including at Melitopol Air Base and several other airports. Ukrainian officials said more than 137 soldiers and civilians had been killed, and as many as 316 people had been injured since the invasion began. The blasts in Kyiv on Friday have already displaced at least 100,000 people. Defense officials believe the attacks are part of an “initial phase” of a large-scale Russian invasion.