Moscow: Russian military is marching towards Ukraine and explosions are being heard from all across the country Thursday soon after Russian President Vladimir Putin authorised a "special operation" in the country's Donbas region, media reports have claimed.
The Russian president in a televised speech early Thursday said he has authorized a “special military operation” in eastern Ukraine, according to AP and BBC News. Explosions have been reported in multiple cities in Ukraine following Putin’s announcement.
Quoting the Russian state news agency TASS, Xinhua news agency also reported that the operation has begun.
"We are hearing reports - some unconfirmed - of explosions in other parts of the Ukraine. Loud bangs in the capital Kyiv as well as Kramatorsk in the Donetsk region," BBC news reported.
But there have also been reports on social media of explosions in Ukraine's Kharkiv in the north-east, Odesa in the south, and the eastern Donetsk Oblast area.
Reports also said that Putin has urged the Ukrainian soldiers in eastern Ukraine to lay down weapons and return to their homes.
Earlier, Putin secured approval to use armed forces abroad and a Kremlin spokesperson said that Russian-backed leaders in eastern Ukraine requested military assistance, AP reports.
US President Joe Biden said in a statement, “President Putin has chosen a premeditated war that will bring a catastrophic loss of life and human suffering.”
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