Kiev ‘to fall by the weekend’ as troops encircle capital after taking Chernobyl despite EU sanctions

The Ukrainian capital of Kyiv is expected to fall to Russian forces within days and the country’s resistance effectively crippled, US security officials fear.

Troops are already closing in on the seat of Ukrainian power after taking control of the strategic Chernobyl nuclear power plant today, and will seize it within 96 hours, bringing a ‘new Iron Curtain’ down on Europe, Volodymyr Zelensky warned.

Officials said Vladimir Putin plans to encircle Ukrainian forces in Kyiv and force them to either surrender or be destroyed, and the leadership of Ukraine will then fall in a week.

A former senior US intelligence officer told Newsweek: ‘After the air and artillery end and the ground war really starts, I think Kyiv falls in just a few days. 

‘The military may last slightly longer but this isn’t going to last long.’

A source close to the Ukrainian government said they agreed that Kyiv will be surrounded within 96 hours but believed the government will stay strong and not collapse.

In a bid to thwart the imminent capture of the city, Emmanuel Macron spoke to Vladimir Putin tonight, who gave the French leader an ‘exhaustive’ explanation of his justification for war.  

The Kremlin said the call took place at Macron’s initiative, and he and Putin agreed to stay in contact.

Macron undertook strenuous diplomacy in recent weeks to try to avert a Russian invasion of Ukraine, including holding talks with Putin in the Kremlin.

It comes after Russian forces seized control of Chernobyl nuclear power plant after a ‘fierce’ battle, with the condition of nuclear storage facilities ‘unknown’, sparking fears of a radiation leak that could cause fallout in Europe. 

Video revealed Russian tanks and armoured vehicles standing in front of the destroyed reactor, which sits just 60 miles north of the capital Kyiv. 

An official said Russian shelling hit a radioactive waste repository and an increase in radiation levels was reported, although this has not yet been corroborated. 

The International Atomic Energy Agency said it is following the situation in Ukraine ‘with grave concern’ and appealed for maximum restraint to avoid any action that may put Ukraine’s nuclear facilities at risk. 

Ukrainian presidential advisor Myhailo Podolyak said: ‘After the absolutely senseless attack of the Russians in this direction, it is impossible to say that the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is safe.’

Meanwhile Turkey reported that one of its ships had been hit by a ‘bomb’ off the coast of Odessa, where fighting is also going on. Turkey is a member of NATO, underlining fears that the war in Ukraine could quickly suck in other states and spark an all-out conflict in Europe.

Speaking after the latest developments, Joe Biden announced more sanctions against Russia but admitted that he had not expected previous threats of financial penalties to deter Vladimir Putin.

He also resisted calls to send in US troops to Ukraine, saying he has no plans to speak to the Russian leader who he accuses of trying to rebuild a Soviet empire.

The sanctions will target Russian banks, oligarchs, state-controlled companies and high-tech sectors, but Russian oil and natural gas were exempt in a bid to avoid disruption to global markets. 

‘Putin is the aggressor. Putin chose this war. And now he and his country will bear the consequences,’ Biden said in remarks at the White House. 

Elsewhere, Kyiv ordered civilians into bomb shelters and declared a curfew amid concerns Russia is about to strike the capital as Ukrainian troops lost control of a key airfield around 15 miles away. Russian forces had attacked it with around two dozen attack helicopters earlier in the day, four of which are thought to have been shot down.

‘They are going to bomb Kyiv now. Authorities told us to hide in shelters,’ a source in the city told MailOnline as authorities said a hospital had been hit, killing four people.

The Ukrainian army was this afternoon fighting in almost every region of the country, battling the Russians for control of military bases, airports, cities and ports from Kharkiv to Kyiv, and Donetsk to Odessa.

It came after Vladimir Putin personally gave the order to attack around 5am, unleashing a salvo of rocket fire that American intelligence said involved more than 100 short and medium-range ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and surface-to-air missiles, and 75 bombers that targeted military sites including barracks, warehouses and airfields in order to knock out the country’s military command structure.

Russia said the strikes destroyed 74 Ukrainian military ground facilities, 11 airfields, three command posts and 18 radar stations controlling Kyiv’s anti-aircraft batteries.

That was followed by attacks from Crimea in the south towards the city of Kherson, a northern advance from Belarus to Kyiv, and an eastern advance from Belgorod towards Kharkiv where the heaviest fighting is going on.

American officials said this was merely an ‘initial phase’ of the attack, and that the majority of Russia’s 190,000 troops at the front remain in reserve. The goal of the attack is to ‘take key population centres’ and ‘decapitate the Ukrainian government’, the officials added. 

Ukraine’s health ministry said so far 57 people have been killed on the first day of conflict, while 169 have been wounded.  

 The port cities of Mariupol and Odessa, where Ukraine’s main naval bases are located, were also attacked – though Odessa appeared to remain under Ukrainian control as of Thursday afternoon. Russian tankers blockaded the Kerch Strait, leading from the Back Sea to the Sea of Azov, cutting off Mariupol. 

Ukraine has hit back, shooting down five Russian helicopters, destroying dozens of tanks and capturing Russian troops. 

A Russian AN-26 military transport aircraft also crashed in the southern Voronezh region, killing its crew on board.

The accident could have been caused by a technical failure and has not inflicted any damage on the ground, Interfax said, citing a press office of Russia’s western military district.

Volodymyr Zelensky, in an address to the nation on Thursday evening, described Russia as ‘evil’ and said Putin had attacked ‘like a suicidal scoundrel… just as Fascist Germany did in World War II’. 

‘Ukraine will not surrender its freedom, whatever Moscow thinks,’  he added. ‘For Ukrainians independence and the right to live free on our land is the highest value.’

He had earlier called on all Ukrainian citizens willing to defend their homeland to step forward, saying guns will be issued to everyone who wants one. He also asked for civilians to give blood to help wounded troops. And he asked world leaders to impose the ‘harshest sanctions possible’ on Putin. 

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, addressing the nation at midday, said western allies are preparing a ‘massive’ package of sanctions against Russia and told the people of Ukraine: ‘We cannot and will not just look away.’ Johnson referred to Putin as a ‘dictator’ who would never ‘subdue the national feeling of the Ukrainians’.

As the West prepared to cut off Russia financially, Vladimir Putin summoned his oligarchs to demand loyalty over his attack on Ukraine – perhaps fearing a rebellion from within after prominent Russian TV figures and celebrities spoke out to oppose the conflict. 

Speaking in the Kremlin, he said that Russia had been ‘forced’ to take action over Ukraine and had ‘no other choice’ but to attack, saying the country remains ‘part of the global economy’ and that he ‘will not hurt the system we belong to’. ‘I want you to show solidarity with the government,’ he told them. 

A Russian T-72 tank is pictured sitting in front of the main reactor at Chernobyl after Putin’s forces seized it in a ‘fierce’ battle with the condition of nuclear storage facilities ‘unknown’

Russian armoured vehicles park on roads near the Chernobyl plant, amid fears that damage to the facility could cause a radiation leak that would blanket Europe with fallout

The attack has come to Ukraine on all fronts with bombs and missiles dropped on targets across the country in the early hours, followed by troop attacks from Crimea, the Donbass, Belgorod and Belarus as well as helicopter landings in Kyiv and at power plants on the Dnieper River. Chernobyl nuclear power plant has also fallen to Russian forces

Russian Mi-8 attack helicopters stage an assault on Gostomel air base, just on the outskirts of Kyiv, after Vladimir Putin launched an all-out attack on the country

Attack helicopters are pictured flying over the Kyiv region of Ukraine after dozens of Russian aircraft attacked the city

An image captured near Kyiv shows what appears to be the wreckage of a downed Russian attack helicopter with a soldier parachuting out of it (to the left of the frame)

A Russian helicopter is shot down somewhere over Kyiv (left), while the wreckage of what appears to be a jet falls from the skies near the capital (right)

A huge explosion is seen at Vinnytsia military base, in central Ukraine, as the country comes under all-out attack by Russia

Ukrainian firefighters extinguish the remains of an Air Force transport plane shot down somewhere over the country today

Joe Biden announced more sanctions against Russia but warned the conflict could last for many months and resisted calls to send in US troops to Ukraine, saying he has no plans to speak to Vladimir Putin

A Russian Ka-52 helicopter gunship is seen in the field after a forced landing Kyiv, Ukraine

In the area of Glukhova, the Ukrainian military engaged a armoured column of 15 T-72 tanks with American Javelin missiles

A wounded woman is seen as airstrike damages an apartment complex outside of Kharkiv, Ukraine

Ukrainian security forces accompany a wounded man after an airstrike hit an apartment complex in Chuhuiv, Kharkiv

Damage to an apartment building in Chuhuiv, Kharkiv region, is seen in footage released by the Ukrainian national guard

Chuhuiv military airfield in Kharkiv outskirts burns

A man throws debris from a burning barn following Russian shelling outside outside Mariupol

Smoke rises over Chuhuiv military airfield in eastern Ukraine after a Russian airstrike aimed at taking out the air force

Russian soldiers raise a flag over the Kakhovka Hydroelectric plant after attacking it with helicopters

CCTV cameras at Belarusian-Ukrainian checkpoint Senkovka-Veselovka capture at least four T-72B tanks, at least eight MT-LB tractors, and a Ural truck crossing the border

Two Russian troops – believed to be Rafik Rakhmankulov, 19 (left) and Mgomd Mgomdov, 26, from Kizilyurt (right) – have been captured by Ukrainian forces in the country’s east

Weapons and knives seized from two Russian soldiers captured by Ukrainian units fighting around Kharkiv

People use a basement of a school as a shelter for the next night in Kyiv

Children stand by broken windows after attacks in Yasinovataya as Ukrainians rush into hiding from Russian shelling

The crew of a Russian BMP fighting vehicle are seen face-down with jackets pulled over their heads (left) after being captured by Ukrainian forces (their vehicle is pictured, right)

Vladimir Putin speaks to oligarchs at the Kremlin, demanding ‘solidarity’ from them over the attack on Ukraine – as Russian markets tank and the West prepares to cut the country off economically

Russian oligarchs line up to listen to Vladimir Putin speak as the Russian economy is hit by his decision to go to war

It came after the Russian strongman gave an extraordinary address to the Russian nation – broadcast in the early hours during a UN meeting aimed at avoiding war – in which he declared a ‘special military operation’ to ‘de-militarise’ and ‘de-Nazify’ Ukraine in what amounted to a outright declaration of war. The video appeared to have been pre-recorded, around the same time as Putin’s Monday address recognising Donbass as independent.

Putin also issued a chilling warning to any country thinking of coming to Ukraine’s aid, vowing ‘consequences greater than any you have faced in history’. ‘I hope I have been heard,’ he said.   

The mood on the ground in Ukraine was mixed. Some showed incredible resolve – heading to work via train and road even as the bombs dropped. Elderly women in the city of Kharkiv, under heavy attack, gathered in the street to pray. But for others, the sight of Russian attack was too much. Highways out of Kyiv clogged with cars as people fled, while refugees began crossing the borders into Poland and Slovakia. 

One Ukrainian woman voiced the outrage of her nation today as she confronted heavily armed Russian soldiers and demanded to know what they were doing in her country.

The woman, wearing a headscarf, shouted at two of the invaders: ‘What the f*** are you doing in our land?’ while one of the embarrassed soldiers in Henichesk, a port city on the sea of Azov, tried to calm her.

She walked away, then called back: ‘You should put sunflower seeds in your pockets so that they will grow on Ukranian land after you die.’ 

Speaking in an emergency White House press conference, Biden today called Putin a ‘pariah’ on the international stage and called on the West to stand up to the ‘bully’.

But he insisted the US would not be helping Ukraine with troops. 

He said: ‘Our forces are not, and will not be, engaged in the conflict with Russia in Ukraine. Our forces are not going to Europe to fight in Ukraine, but to defend our Nato allies and reassure those allies in the east.

‘When the history of this era is written, Putin’s choice to make a totally unjustifiable war on Ukraine will have left Russia weaker and the rest of the world stronger.

‘He has much larger ambitions than Ukraine. He wants to, in fact, re-establish the former Soviet Union. That’s what this is about.’ 

Meanwhile protesters in Moscow voiced their support for Ukraine as they chanted ‘There is no war’ outside Pushkinskaya Metro station in the Russian capital. 

The invasion – a naked attempt to redraw the map of Europe by force – marks the most concerted attempt to up-end world order since the end of the Cold War, and risks sparking the bloodiest conflict in Europe since the end of the Second World War.

Underlining the gravity of the moment, Ukrainian Interior Ministry advisor Anton Herashchenko said: ‘Starting today, the world has a new geopolitical reality. Either Ukraine and the world will stop the new Hitler now, or there will be a Third World War.’ 

Western leaders lined up to condemn Russia’s actions in the early hours, with security councils convened the world over to mount a response. Heavy sanctions are expected to follow, along with more shipments of military equipment to Ukraine – provided they can find a route in.

But NATO and the US have made it clear that no troops will be sent, leaving Ukraine’s military – far the inferior of Russia – to hold off the assault alone. Few expect it to emerge victorious from what is almost certain to be a prolonged, bloody, and vicious war. 

NATO is expected to focus its efforts on stopping the war from spilling over into neighbouring countries. Poland, a member of the alliance, shares an extensive land border with Ukraine. The Baltic states – Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, also NATO members – will now fear a Russian assault.

The alliance began moving its forces early Thursday, putting 100 warplanes on high alert in Europe whole moving more troops to the Baltics.  

Moldova, where some Russian ground troops are already based, is also at risk of falling to Putin. From there, he could strike out at Romania – another former Soviet state. 

Unconfirmed reports said that Russian forces had destroyed or rendered unusable the Ukrainian navy, and struck Boryspil Airport in Kyiv. Access to the Black Sea and Azov Sea was cut off. 

President Joe Biden will address the nation at noon on Thursday, and on Wednesday night he condemned Russia’s ‘unprovoked and unjustified attack.’ He was speaking to Ukraine’s president.

Biden said in a statement: ‘President Putin has chosen a premeditated war that will bring a catastrophic loss of life and human suffering.

‘Russia alone is responsible for the death and destruction this attack will bring, and the United States and its Allies and partners will respond in a united and decisive way. The world will hold Russia accountable.’

Biden said he will be monitoring the situation from Washington, DC, and will continue to get regular updates from his national security team. 

Putin justified it all in a televised address, asserting that the attack was needed to protect civilians in eastern Ukraine – a false claim the U.S. had predicted he would make as a pretext for an invasion.

He accused the U.S. and its allies of ignoring Russia’s demands to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO and for security guarantees. He also claimed that Russia does not intend to occupy Ukraine but will move to ‘demilitarize’ it and bring those who committed crimes to justice.

Biden in a written statement condemned the ‘unprovoked and unjustified attack,’ and he promised that the U.S. and its allies would ‘hold Russia accountable.’ The president said he planned to speak to Americans on Thursday after a meeting of the Group of Seven leaders. More sanctions against Russia were expected to be announced Thursday.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba described the assault as a ‘full-scale invasion’ and said Ukraine will ‘defend itself and will win. The world can and must stop Putin. The time to act is now.’

In the capital, Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko advised residents to stay home unless they are involved in critical work and urged them to prepare go-bags with necessities and documents if they need to evacuate. An Associated Press photographer in Mariupol reported hearing explosions and seeing dozens of people with suitcases heading for their cars to leave the city.

‘We are facing a war and horror. What could be worse?’ 64-year-old Liudmila Gireyeva said in Kyiv. She planned to head to the western city of Lviv and then to try to move to Poland to join her daughter. Putin ‘will be damned by history, and Ukrainians are damning him.’

The Russian claims about knocking out Ukrainian air defenses and Ukrainian claims to have shot down several Russian aircraft could not immediately be verified. The Ukrainian air defense system and air force date back to the Soviet era and are dwarfed by Russia’s massive air power and its inventory of precision weapons.

The Russian Defense Ministry said it was not targeting cities, but using precision weapons and claimed that ‘there is no threat to civilian population.’

Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to Ukraine’s interior minister, said on Facebook that the Russian military had launched missile strikes on Ukrainian military command facilities, air bases and military depots in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Dnipro. 

Biden announced he will join G7 counterparts on Thursday morning, and will address the country later on Thursday to ‘announce the further consequences the United States and its Allies and partners will impose on Russia.’

‘We will also coordinate with our NATO Allies to ensure a strong, united response that deters any aggression against the Alliance. Tonight, Jill and I are praying for the brave and proud people of Ukraine,’ the statement added. 

Boris Johnson, the British prime minister, tweeted early on Thursday: ‘I am appalled by the horrific events in Ukraine and I have spoken to President Zelenskyy to discuss next steps. President Putin has chosen a path of bloodshed and destruction by launching this unprovoked attack on Ukraine. The UK and our allies will respond decisively.’

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has also signed restrictions prohibiting all scheduled Russian airlines from entering UK airspace or touching down on British soil. 

Putin in his speech on Thursday told other countries not to get involved.

‘To anyone who would consider interfering from the outside – if you do, you will face consequences greater than any you have faced in history,’ he said in the television broadcast around 6am Moscow time. 

The consequences of the conflict and resulting sanctions on Russia could reverberate throughout the world, upending geopolitical dynamics in Europe as well as affecting energy supplies in Europe and jolting global financial markets.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan (left) sits down for a ‘working lunch’ with Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin, having refused to call off a visit to Russia despite the outbreak of war

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy chairs an urgent meeting with the leadership of the government, representatives of the defence sector and the economic bloc, in Kyiv

Ukrainian servicemen get ready to repel an attack in Ukraine’s Lugansk

Ukrainian servicemen get ready to repel an attack in Ukraine’s Lugansk region

Ukrainian servicemen get ready to repel an attack in Ukraine’s Lugansk region

Ukrainian tanks are seen rolling into the port city of Mariupol, in eastern Ukraine, after Putin declared war 

Ukrainian troops are seen on the top of a tank heading into the city of Mariupol, near the occupied Donbass

Ukrainian soldiers ride in a military vehicle in Mariupol, Ukraine

Military vehicles are seen on a street on the outskirts of the separatist-controlled city of Donetsk, Ukraine

Servicemen ride on an armoured vehicle with the letter ‘Z’ on it in the town of Armyansk, Crimea

A military vehicle leaves the town of Armyansk, northern Crimea

A column of army trucks passes a police post in the town of Armyansk, northern Crimea

Ukrainian military track burns at an air defence base in the aftermath of an apparent Russian strike in Mariupol, Ukraine

Video that’s being shared on social media showing missile strike in Myrhorod in Poltava region

Black smoke rises from a military airport in Chuguyev near Kharkiv

Vladimir Putin is pictured in the early hours of Thursday morning declaring war on Ukraine, in what he termed a ‘special military operation’

Alexander Lukashenko, dictatorial ruler of Belarus, is shown speaking to his generals on Thursday morning after his forces reportedly joined in the attack on Ukraine – though he denies it

Asian stock markets plunged and oil prices surged as the attack began. Earlier, Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index fell 1.8% to an eight-month low after the Kremlin said rebels in eastern Ukraine asked for military assistance.

Anticipating international condemnation and countermeasures, Putin issued a stark warning to other countries not to meddle, saying, ‘whoever tries to impede us, let alone create threats for our country and its people, must know that the Russian response will be immediate and lead to the consequences you have never seen in history.’

Putin urged Ukrainian servicemen to ‘immediately put down arms and go home.’

In a stark reminder of Russia’s nuclear power, Putin warned that ‘no one should have any doubts that a direct attack on our country will lead to the destruction and horrible consequences for any potential aggressor.’ He emphasized that Russia is ‘one of the most potent nuclear powers and also has a certain edge in a range of state-of-the-art weapons.’

Though the U.S. on Tuesday announced the repositioning of forces around the Baltics, Biden has said he will not send in troops to fight Russia.

Putin announced the military operation after the Kremlin said rebels in eastern Ukraine asked Russia for military assistance to help fend off Ukrainian ‘aggression,’ an announcement that the White House said was a ‘false flag’ operation by Moscow to offer up a pretext for an invasion.

Putin’s announcement came just hours after the Ukrainian president rejected Moscow’s claims that his country poses a threat to Russia and made a passionate, last-minute plea for peace.

‘The people of Ukraine and the government of Ukraine want peace,’ Zelenskyy said in an emotional overnight address, speaking in Russian in a direct appeal to Russian citizens. ‘But if we come under attack, if we face an attempt to take away our country, our freedom, our lives and lives of our children, we will defend ourselves. When you attack us, you will see our faces, not our backs.’ 

Zelenskyy said he asked to arrange a call with Putin late Wednesday, but the Kremlin did not respond.

In an apparent reference to Putin’s move to authorize the deployment of the Russian military to ‘maintain peace’ in eastern Ukraine, Zelensky warned that ‘this step could mark the start of a big war on the European continent.’

‘Any provocation, any spark could trigger a blaze that will destroy everything,’ he said.

He challenged the Russian propaganda claims, saying that ‘you are told that this blaze will bring freedom to the people of Ukraine, but the Ukrainian people are free.’

At an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council called by Ukraine because of the imminent threat of a Russian invasion, members still unaware of Putin’s announcement appealed to him to stop an attack. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres opened the meeting, just before the announcement, telling Putin: ‘Stop your troops from attacking Ukraine. Give peace a chance. Too many people have already died.’

NATO Secretary-General Jen Stoltenberg issued a statement condemning ‘Russia’s reckless and unprovoked attack on Ukraine, which puts at risk countless civilian lives. Once again, despite our repeated warnings and tireless efforts to engage in diplomacy, Russia has chosen the path of aggression against a sovereign and independent country.’

European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen promised to hold the Kremlin accountable.

An explosion lights up the night sky over Kyiv in the early hours of Thursday, as Russia launched an all-out attack on Ukraine from north, south and east with bombs, cruise missiles and rockets raining from the skies

A blast in Sumy, eastern Ukraine, strikes what appears to be an arms depot which exploded, lighting up the night sky

Russian military tanks and armored vehicles advance in Donetsk, Ukraine

An explosion is seen in the early hours of Thursday in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv

A huge explosion lights up the night sky in Sumy, eastern Ukraine, after a Russian airstrike hit what appears to be an ammo dump, while smoke and flames are also seen rising over Kherson, in the south near Crimea

Checkpoint of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine in Kyiv region was shelled

The ruins of a state border guard service checkpoint in the Kyiv region is seen after it was struck

Flame and smoke rise from the debris of a private house in the aftermath of Russian shelling outside Kyiv, Ukrain

A Ukrainian infantry combat vehicle BMP-2 is seen standing guard on the outskirts of Kyiv

Debris and rubble are seen at the site where a missile landed in the street in Kyiv

Police officers inspect the remains of a missile that landed in the street in Kyiv

Ukrainian firefighters arrive to rescue civilians after an airstrike hit an apartment complex in Chuhuiv, Kharkiv

Ukrainian military helicopter flies over a gas station, after Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized a military operation

A Russian tank is seen parked beside a road in Donetsk, the area of eastern Ukraine occupied by pro-Russian rebels

‘In these dark hours, our thoughts are with Ukraine and the innocent women, men and children as they face this unprovoked attack and fear for their lives,’ they said on Twitter.

Even before Putin’s announcement, dozens of nations imposed sanctions on Russia, further squeezing Russian oligarchs and banks out of international markets.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has shrugged off the sanctions, saying that ‘Russia has proven that, with all the costs of the sanctions, it is able to minimize the damage.’

The threat of war has already shredded Ukraine’s economy and raised the specter of massive casualties, energy shortages across Europe and global economic chaos.

Across Ukraine, cruise and ballistic missiles were destroying military infrastructure and strategically important facilities, according to unofficial Russian sources.

Mariupol, on the Black Sea 50 miles from the Russian border, appeared to be under fierce attack. Taking this strategic location would give the Donbas republics access to the sea.

The moment Ukraine and the rest of Europe had dreaded for months finally came shortly after 4.35am local time when huge explosions were heard in Kyiv and other cities across the country.

Terrified citizens rushed to bomb shelters, though no air raid warnings sounded in the capital – only the frequent muffled crump of missile or air strikes breaking through the pre-dawn stillness.

In Kyiv, people were sheltering in basements as the sounds of distant explosions became a constant backdrop.

Within an hour Russians special force and airborne troops were reported to be on the ground at Kyiv’s Boryspil Airport, amid fierce fighting. 

A woman in the Ukrainian capital said: ‘I was woken by a friend.

‘I am in the centre of Kyiv.

‘I hear the sound of distant explosions and ambulance sirens.’

At 7.05am the first air raid sirens were heard in central Kyiv.  

A CNN reporter in Kyiv reported hearing blasts live on air in the early hours of Thursday morning.

‘I just heard a big bang right here behind me. I’ve never heard anything like it,’ said Matthew Chance, senior international correspondent for the network. 

Missile strike in Ivano Frankivsk, in Ukraine’s west, as smoke and flames rise into the sky

Ukraine: port of Ochakiv (Mykolaiv region) is on fire

Fire is seen coming out of a military installation near the airport in Mariupol, southern Ukraine

Ukrainian army soldier are seen next to multiple launch missile systems in Kharkiv, eastern Ukraine

Ukrainian army soldiers stand next to multiple launch missile systems near Kharkiv, which was reportedly under heavy Russian attack on Thursday morning

Ukrainian army soldiers are seen on an armoured vehicle in the Kharkiv region

Smoke rise from an air defense base in the aftermath of an apparent Russian strike in Mariupol, Ukraine

Damaged radar arrays and other equipment is seen at Ukrainian military facility outside Mariupol, Ukraine

People stand outside a destroyed building after bombings on the eastern Ukraine town of Chuguiv

A local mining equipment repair plant stands damaged by shellfire in Gorlovka

A local man stands before a house damaged by shellfire in Gorlovka

Chance said that he heard between seven and eight explosions and quickly put on his flak jacket and headgear while he continued to report from a balcony in the Ukrainian capital.  

‘There are big explosions taking place. 

‘I can’t see them or explain what they are. 

‘But I will tell you the U.S has warned the Ukrainian authorities there could be air strikes and ground attacks as well around the country, including the capital. 

‘I don’t know if that’s what’s occurring now but it’s a remarkable coincidence that the explosions come just minutes after Putin gave his speech,’ Chance explained. 

‘This is the first time we’ve heard anything. It has been absolutely silent. 

‘This is the first time. It has to be more than just a coincidence. 

‘I think it’s safe where I am. I have a flak jacket,’ Chance remarked, before ducking down to put on his protective gear.

He suggested that the blasts he heard in the Ukrainian capital were still some distance away from the center.

‘It was so quiet in Ukraine tonight up until those explosions,’ Chance explained. 

The blasts came within minutes of Putin saying Russia would conduct a military operation in eastern Ukraine.

Explosions could also be heard from Ukraine in the Russian city of Belgorod. 

Putin told Russians: ‘I have decided to conduct a special military operation. 

‘Russia cannot exist with a constant threat emanating from the territory of Ukraine.

‘You and I have been left with no opportunity to protect our people other than the one we use today.’

It comes after explosions were also heard near the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, as fears mounted that shelling is underway.

Residents in the city, which is located in south eastern Ukraine, have been woken up at 3.30am by blasts 30 miles from the Russian border.

Video footage appeared to show clouds of smoke rising up into the night sky near Mariupol, but it was unconfirmed whether it was as a result of shelling.

Putin earlier this week said he wanted to take the major Azov Sea Port of Mariupol, which handles 50 percent Ukraine’s steel and mineral exports. 

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Russia’s actions were a ‘grave breach of international law’ and that allies would meet to address the ‘renewed aggression’.

He said on Twitter: ‘I strongly condemn #Russia’s reckless attack on #Ukraine, which puts at risk countless civilian lives. 

‘This is a grave breach of international law & a serious threat to Euro-Atlantic security. #NATO Allies will meet to address Russia’s renewed aggression.’

The British foreign secretary Liz Truss tweeted her condemnation of the attack just after 4am local time.

‘I strongly condemn the appalling, unprovoked attack President Putin has launched on the people of Ukraine,’ she said. 

Cars jam the highway heading out of Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, after it was slammed by missiles in the early hours

Cars block the highway out of Kyiv following pre-offensive missile strikes of the Russian armed forces and Belarus

Traffic jams are seen as people leave the city of Kyiv, Ukraine

People take shelter in Vokzalna metro station in Kyiv

People line up to withdraw money at a cash dispenser in Kyiv

People queue at an ATM in Lviv, western Ukraine, after Russia unleashed an all-out attack on the country

Ukrainians shop for weapons in the capital Kyiv after Zelesnky promised a weapon to whoever wanted one

Cars drive across a field to leave the city of Kharkiv, in eastern Ukraine, after it came under heavy attack

A family arrives at the Polish border crossing after fleeing violence in Ukraine, in Medyka

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan attends a wreath-laying ceremony in Moscow as he prepares to sit down for talks with Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin today

Footage shows smoke supposedly rising on the skyline after the blasts were heard near Mariupol, eastern Ukraine

Boris Johnson is briefed by the Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral Sir Tony Radakin at the Ministry of Defence on the situation in Ukraine on Tuesday

‘We stand with Ukraine and we will work with our international partners to respond to this terrible act of aggression.’

The explosions come just hours after the U.S. warned the Ukrainian government that Putin’s troops are ‘ready to go now’ with an invasion of Ukraine, with 80 percent of Russian soldiers now assembled around the country in attack positions.

U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken issued a further stark warning and said, hours before the invasion, that he believed Russia would invade before the night is over.  

Russia on Wednesday afternoon issued a notice to airmen (NOTAM) which closed the airspace along its northeastern border with Ukraine to all civilian air traffic. 

Ukraine later said early on Thursday it had restricted civilian flights in its airspace due to ‘potential hazard’.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy vowed that the Ukrainian people will ‘fight back’ if Putin threatens their freedom and lives by launching a full-scale invasion.

President Zelenskyy made an emotional address to his nation after Moscow-backed rebel leaders in eastern Ukraine asked Putin for military assistance in fending off Ukrainian ‘aggression’.  

In an emotional televised address on Wednesday night, President Zelenskyy said: ‘The people of Ukraine and the government of Ukraine want peace.  

‘But if we come under attack, if we face an attempt to take away our country, our freedom, our lives and lives of our children, we will defend ourselves. 

‘When you attack us, you will see our faces, not our backs.’ 

The Ukrainian president said he had tried to call Putin this evening, but there was ‘no answer, only silence’, adding that Moscow now has around 200,000 soldiers by Ukraine’s borders.  

The United Nations Security Council quickly scheduled an emergency meeting Wednesday night – the second in three days – at Ukraine’s request. 

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called the separatists’ request ‘a further escalation of the security situation.’ 

Earlier on Wednesday, Ukraine was placed on a war footing: A state of emergency was declared and approved by parliament, 200,000 military reservists called up, border zones were restricted and three million Ukrainians told to leave Russia, with Kyiv acknowledging for the first time that an attack could now take place anywhere, at any time. 

Biden on Wednesday warned President Zelenskyy of an ‘imminent’ attack by Putin’s troops in the next 48 hours – , just hours after Ukraine was hit by a ‘massive’ cyberattack targeting its government and banks. 

But Blinken cut that time frame of a Russian invasion drastically and said on Wednesday night he expected Russia to invade Ukraine before the night was over.  

U.S. intelligence chiefs knew Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, was at particular risk of being targeted in a Russian invasion as it is close to the Ukrainian-Russian border. 

On Wednesday night, a huge military convoy of more than 100 trucks with soldiers were heading in the direction of the city.