Ukraine has said it was attacked through multiple borders.
According to the Ukrainian state border service, early Thursday morning, it’s state sovereignty was breached through its borders with Russia, its borders with Belarus and its borders with the Russian annexed Crimea..
“At about 5:00 a.m., the state border of Ukraine in the area with the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus was attacked by Russian troops supported by Belarus,” the service said.
The border service added that attacks are being carried out in Luhansk, Sumy, Kharkiv, Chernihiv and Zhytomyr regions — areas on the eastern and northern borders of Ukraine. The attacks are targeting border units, border patrols and checkpoints using artillery, heavy equipment and small arms, the border service said.
“In addition, the attack takes place from the Autonomous Republic of Crimea side,” said the service.
Ukraine is firing back: It added that border guards, along with Ukraine’s Armed Forces and National Guard, are “firing at the enemy” depending on the situation on the border.
The Ukrainian air force also revealed that as at press time it had shut down five Russian planes and several attack helicopters
UN pleads with Vladimir Putin to stop attacking Ukraine
Meanwhile, the United Nations has asked Russian president to stop attacking Ukraine.
This comes as an emergency Security council meeting was held on Thursday morning, February 24 in the United Nations General assembly in New York on the request of Ukraine and the US after Vladimir Putin announced a military operation in Ukraine early Thursday February 24th.
After Putin’s announcement, missile strikes could be heard in Kyiv, Donbas Odessa regions of Ukraine..
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky introduced martial law across the country on Thursday, urging citizens to remain calm. Earlier, he said he had tried to call Putin on Wednesday but the Russian leader didn’t answer his calls.
Now, the UN secretary general has urged Putin to bring back his troops to Russia and stop “what could be the worst war since the beginning of the century.”
“This is the saddest moment in my tenure as Secretary General of the United Nations,” Guterres began.
Guterres warned Putin that Russian military action could not only be “devastating for Ukraine” and “tragic” for Russia “but with an impact we can not even foresee in relation to their consequences for the global economy.”
“In a moment when we are emerging from Covid and so many developing countries absolutely need to have space for the recovery, which would be very, very difficult with the high prices of oil, with the exports of wheat from Ukraine and with rising interest rates caused by instability in international markets,” he added.
“This conflict must stop now.”
“Please stop attacking Ukraine “
