Russian offensive on Ukraine: Dozens of attacks from all directions

Ukraine reports more than 30 different attacks by Russian units from all directions. Moscow uses tanks, ground troops and fighter jets. At least 40 Ukrainians are said to have been killed.

Ukraine has reported Russian attacks from different directions. By midday, Russia had carried out more than 30 attacks with aircraft, artillery and cruise missiles “on Ukrainian civil and military infrastructure,” the Ukrainian General Staff said. This information could not be verified independently.

The general staff said the enemy had been stopped in the Chernihiv region, which borders Belarus to the north-west. “Heavy fighting continues towards Kharkiv.” The city of Kharkiv is located in the east not far from the Russian border. Mariupol on the Sea of ​​Azov was “brought back under full control”. Looking at the south of the country, the military said: “The situation in Cherson is difficult.” The Russian army is also launching offensives from Crimea, which was annexed by Ukraine in 2014, towards Cherson and Melitopol.

Dozens of dead and fighting across the country

The Ukrainian border police even spoke of more than 200 attacks. There are fights almost everywhere in the country. According to Ukrainian sources, more than 40 Ukrainian soldiers and about ten civilians have been killed so far. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg had previously spoken of Russian attacks from various directions with air and missile attacks, ground troops and special forces. Apparently Russia is attacking in a kind of “pincer formation”, with attacks coming from southern Crimea, from Russian territory in the east and from Belarusian territory, where tens of thousands of Russian troops are stationed.

Moscow: Dozens of military positions destroyed

Russia says it has attacked dozens of Ukrainian military positions. 74 ground infrastructure objects were disabled, Moscow Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said, according to the Interfax agency. Among them were eleven airfields, three command posts and a naval base. In addition, 18 radar stations of the surface-to-air missile defense systems S-300 and Buk-M1 were destroyed. According to Moscow, at least one combat helicopter and several combat drones were also shot down. Ukraine also reports shooting down several Russian helicopters and planes.

Attack at dawn – on Putin’s orders

According to the dpa news agency, the pro-Russian separatists are reporting the capture of two small towns. These are Stanytsia Luhanska and Shchastya. Fighters from their ranks were also killed. There are dead and injured among the armed forces, but also among the civilian population, said the head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, Denis Puschilin, on Russian state television.

The Russian army began militarily attacking Ukraine early in the morning. Russian President Vladimir Putin had authorized the military action. The Kremlin chief warned other states not to stand in Russia’s way. This would have consequences they had never experienced before.

Selenskyj calls for more support

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared a state of war. He appealed to the country’s citizens not to panic. “We are prepared for everything, we will win,” he said in a video message published on Facebook. He called for immediate sanctions against Moscow. He also needs defense assistance and financial support, he wrote on Twitter after phone calls with Chancellor Olaf Scholz, among others. Zelenskyj called for a worldwide “anti-Putin coalition”.

NATO strengthens troops in the east

In the face of the Russian attack, NATO wants to strengthen its air, land and naval forces in the east. All measures are and will remain “preventive, proportionate and not escalating,” said a statement by the 30 alliance states that was adopted at noon. Secretary General Stoltenberg said NATO would not support Ukraine with its own troops. The alliance had come together at short notice for an emergency meeting.