The Russia-Ukraine conflict LIVE NEWS: Russian ground forces enter Ukraine and seize control of two towns in Luhansk.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has authorised troops to conduct a special military operation in Ukraine’s Donbass region. According to eyewitnesses, a massive explosion was heard near Kyiv’s main airport hours later. Meanwhile, India evacuated 182 more nationals from crisis-torn Ukraine on a special flight.
These sanctions are intended to wreak havoc on the Kremlin’s interests and ability to fund the war: Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission
In the midst of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the MEA control room in Delhi is being expanded and made operational 24 hours a day, seven days a week to assist students and other Indian nationals in Ukraine.
‘Barbarian act’: World leaders condemn Russia’s actions in Ukraine, according to the Associated Press.
As Russian troops attacked Ukraine on Thursday, world leaders expressed outrage, calling it “an unjustified barbarian act,” and vowed to tighten sanctions and hold the Kremlin accountable.
The upheaval caused by the start of a long-feared act of aggression reverberated from Europe to Asia. Stock markets fell, oil prices rose, and European aviation officials warned of a high risk to civilian aircraft flying over Ukraine, reminding pilots that “this is now an active conflict zone.”
The United Nations Security Council convened an extraordinary emergency meeting in New York to discourage Russia from sending troops into Ukraine. The appeal by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to “give peace a chance” came as Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared on Russian television to announce a military operation aimed at protecting civilians in Ukraine.
Putin, who said rebels in eastern Ukraine had requested military assistance from Moscow, warned other countries that any attempt to interfere with the Russian operation would result in “consequences they have never seen.”
Russian tanks and other heavy equipment crossed the border in several northern regions, as well as from the Kremlin-annexed Crimean peninsula in the south, according to the agency.
According to border guards, at least three people have been killed during the conflict.
Separately, an advisor to Ukraine’s Minister of Internal Affairs stated that Russian shelling killed at least eight people and injured nine others.
Ukraine has suffered a high number of casualties in its eight-year conflict with Russian-backed separatists in the east, but there have been no fatalities along its southern border with Crimea for several years.
Following a series of emergency phone calls with world leaders, including US Vice President Joe Biden, the Ukrainian president convened a meeting of top military brass, according to his office.
Ukraine’s armed forces are engaged in heavy combat,” presidential adviser Mykhailo Podoliak said.
“We’ve had losses,” he added, without going into further detail.
“The Russian armed forces have been repulsed in a number of locations.”
According to Ukrainian officials, Russia’s primary targets were military infrastructure and silos, which it was able to push five kilometres deep along Ukraine’s northern border.