Mlipuko mkubwa umesikika katikati ya mji wa Keiv leo ahsubuhi. Inasemekana uwanja wa ndege umeshambuliwa kwa kombora au ndege.
Putin orders military operations in eastern Ukraine as UN meets
Russian president approves ‘special military operation’ as diplomats in Security Council hold second emergency meeting in a week.
An invasion of Ukraine appeared to be under way after Putin ordered 'special military operations' and witnesses reported explosions [Evgeniy Maloletka/AP Photo]
Published On 24 Feb 202224 Feb 2022
Vladimir Putin has authorised a “special military operation” in eastern Ukraine, Russian state media reported at the same time as the United Nations Security Council met for its second emergency meeting this week to urge a de-escalation and return to talks.
Russian media reported President Putin saying he had given approval to a “special military operation” in the Donbas region of Ukraine, where Moscow earlier recognised rebel-held territories in Luhansk and Donetsk and said they had asked for its “help”. Clashes between Russian and Ukrainian forces were only a matter of time, he added.
Shortly after Putin spoke, Al Jazeera’s Andrew Simmons, who is in Kyiv, said there were explosions in the capital and power had been cut. It appeared to be a “full scale attack”, he said, targetting the airport and key buildings.
Explosions also rocked the breakaway eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk and civilian aircraft were warned away, while there were reports of naval landings at Odessa.
“Putin has just launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine,” Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote in Twitter. “Peaceful Ukrainian cities are under strikes. This is a war of aggression. Ukraine will defend itself and will win. The world can and must stop Putin. The time to act is now.”
The Interior Ministry said cruise missiles had been used.
UN chief Antonio Guterres condemned Russia’s actions in an impassioned appeal.
“In the name of humanity bring your troops back to Russia,” he said. “In the name of humanity, do not allow a war to start in Europe which could be worst war since the beginning of the century with consequences not only devastating for Ukraine, not only tragic for the Russian Federation but with an impact cannot even
