Russia-Ukraine war: 2 towns in Ukraine's Luhansk in control, claim Russia-backed separatists

In a recent development, Russian-backed separatists claimed to have taken control of the towns of Shchastia and Stanytsia Luhanska in Ukraine's Luhansk region, according to Reuters. Meanwhile, Ukraine's border guard agency claimed that the Russian military attacked the country from neighbouring Belarus.

Earlier in the day, Russia's defence ministry announced that it had destroyed military infrastructure at Ukraine's air bases and "suppressed" its air defences. Ukraine also claimed that five Russian planes and one helicopter had been shot down. 

Meanwhile, Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed Ukrainian airbases and air defences have been ‘neutralised’.  The Ukraine crisis erupted into a full-fledged military operation early Thursday morning, according to Russia's President Vladimir Putin. "I have decided on a military operation," he said in a televised address to the Russian people and the rest of the world.

Blasts were heard in several major cities across the eastern European country in the hours that followed, and the news agency Reuters reported missile strikes on Ukrainian military installations in the capital, Kyiv.

Sanctions against Russia have been announced by major Western powers, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union, as well as other countries, but Putin's government has downplayed their impact thus far.

Meanwhile, Ukraine has declared martial law in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin's declaration of invasion. Martial law would impose more stringent restrictions, such as bans on meetings, movements, and political parties.  With powerful explosions heard across Kyiv and Eastern Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that military bases throughout the country were under attack. Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine prefers "silence," but that it must act. "However, if we remain silent today, we will vanish tomorrow."

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• Russia
• Ukraine
• Luhansk
• separtists
• Russia Ukraine crisis
• Vladimir Putin
• NATO
• United States