Iran Press/ Europe: Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that he had ordered the Russian Armed Forces to launch a special operation in the Donbas region.
According to the Russian network Russia Today, Putin said the order was issued after the leaders of the separatist region of eastern Ukraine called for Russian military assistance in response to the escalation of 'Ukrainian aggression.'
A series of bombings have been reported across Ukraine, and eyewitnesses say the blasts occurred near some major cities.
Missile strikes in Kyiv and Kharkiv
Meanwhile, local media quoted an official in the Ukrainian Interior Ministry saying that Missiles had hit Ukrainian army headquarters in Kyiv and Kharkiv.
War between Russia and Ukraine begins
Hours after Moscow ordered a "special operation" in the Donbas breakaway region, Kyiv announced that war had broken out between Russia and Ukraine.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kolyba said in a statement this morning (Thursday) that Vladimir Putin had "recently launched a full-scale attack on Ukraine."
Seven people killed nine wounded in Russian attack
The Ukrainian military claims that at least seven people have been killed and nine others injured in the Russian mortar fire.
Russian Military equipment, forces in Kharkiv
Videos posted on social media indicate the presence of Russian troops and equipment near the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.
Complete withdrawal of Russian diplomats from Ukraine
The Russian embassy in Ukraine announced the total evacuation of the embassy in Kyiv, saying that all Russian diplomats had left Ukraine.
Toughest sanctions to be imposed on Russia
"The European Union will respond in the strongest possible way ..... (European leaders) Stronger package," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told reporters in the Belgian capital, Brussels, in response to Russia's military operation in Ukraine. "Europe will adopt the toughest package of sanctions have ever implemented," Borrell stressed.
US Congress called for crippling sanctions against Russia
The US Congress issued a statement condemning Russia's military operation in Ukraine and calling for crippling sanctions against Moscow.
"Tonight, my heart goes is with the people of Ukraine," Democratic Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez said in a statement.
"As chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, I am committed to ensuring that the United States puts maximum costs on Putin, the Russian economy, and those who facilitated the overthrow of Ukraine."
UNSC members sit for 2nd emergency meeting on Ukraine
Following their 2014 declaration of independence from Ukraine, the region, known as the Donbas, became mired in war as Kyiv sought to reclaim the territory. After nearly eight years of conflict, residents of Donetsk celebrated the news that Russia had formally recognized their sovereignty.
The Donbas region is predominantly Russian-speaking, and, according to a 2001 census, ethnic Russians make up 38.2% of the population of Donetsk.
Dating back to the 1990s, shortly after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the politics of the Donbas have been at odds with those of Kyiv, Ukraine's capital city. The region voted to have their official language be Russian, which was rejected in Kyiv.
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