Ukraine faces a scary night: Russia has already struck here

Large troops of Russian soldiers are crossing the border into Ukraine from various border crossings, including via Belarus. That’s part two of the invasion that started early this morning with air strikes.

According to Ukrainian police, Russia has carried out 203 attacks on the country since the beginning of the day. Fighting is underway in several places in Ukraine, according to police. The Ukrainian army says there is fighting all along the eastern border.

The Russian Defense Ministry reports that it destroyed 83 military targets in Ukraine. These include eighteen radar stations for anti-aircraft systems, eleven army runways and three command posts.

At the moment there are no objective figures on the number of victims, but there are certainly already dozens of deaths and hundreds of injured. Soldiers especially, but also civilians. Because even though President Putin had promised that only military targets would be targeted, there are now images of, among other things, apartment buildings that were hit by missiles. It has also become clear in the course of the day that Putin wants to strike throughout Ukraine.

This is how the city’s airport became Ivano-Frankivsk under fire. This is striking, because that city is located in the far west of Ukraine, far from the border with Russia.

“After fierce fighting, we are also in control of the Chernobylsite,” Michailo Podoliak, an adviser to the president, said on the eve. Kiev had previously reported fierce fighting in the vicinity of the site where the nuclear waste was stored. The Ukrainian capital Kiev is located just 70 kilometers from the demarcated zone around the plant, where the worst nuclear disaster ever occurred in 1986, and just over 80 kilometers from the border with Belarus.

Also withLoegansk there was heavy fighting.

Earlier in the day, thirteen civilians and nine military personnel died in the region Cherson, in the south of Ukraine. That is partly controlled by Russian troops, reports the regional administration. Two children are also among the civilian casualties. In Kherson, but also in the rest of Ukraine, the population is still trying to flee from the Russian war violence. There are long queues everywhere.

On Thursday afternoon there were already images showing how Russian troops would have conquered a dam near the Dneper, a large river that cuts through the country and that Odessaan important port city on the Black Sea, would have fallen.

Images of gigantic explosions at the air force base are also circulating on social media Melitopol in southeastern Ukraine. CNN was able to verify the images and confirm that they are real. Several planes have been destroyed.

Near the capital Kiev Hostomel military airport (better known as Antonov Airport), home to Ukraine’s military aircraft and bombers, was bombed. A great deal of damage was caused both during a first series of bombings last night and during the second series from Russian combat helicopters. Russia has also dropped paratroopers in that region.

Black smoke was also seen over the intelligence headquarters of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, in central Kiev. In the meantime, a curfew has been introduced in Kiev.

In Lviv, in the far west of the country, heavy explosions have already been heard this morning. Explosions have also been reported continuously in recent hours.

Out Charkov reports are received that various civilian targets have been hit. A 12-year-old boy died in an apartment building.

Kiev fears Russia is gearing up for another air offensive now that it’s dark. By Friday morning, Russian soldiers may be seen in many Ukrainian cities.