Russian commanders were told that they could come and take over northern European,

 

Russian commanders were told that they could come and take over northern European,

He explained to his soldiers we will take over the northern European territory it said Russian commanders in western Ukarina-.

Russia began to attack Ukraine they bombed several targets in several cities

Russian forces are said to have entered Ukraine's Kiev region, where the capital is located. Ukrainians are taking shelter in subways and shelters in cities where the plane alarm sounds, and dozens of people are said to have been killed during the morning.

Russian forces have entered the northern parts of the Kiev region with tanks, Ukrainian authorities say according to Bloomberg.

All Ukrainian citizens who want to join the fight against Russia are urged to do so, Zelenskyj announces according to the state news agency Ukrinform.

- We are already handing out weapons to protect our country and will continue to do so to anyone who wants and can defend Ukraine, he says.

"Strike back and cause the attackers maximum losses", is the order of President Volodymyr Zelenskyj, according to Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnji.

The Russian invasion began just minutes after a speech by President Vladimir Putin at four o'clock on Thursday morning, Swedish time.

"I have made the decision about a military operation," Putin said.

In the speech, which was broadcast on television, the Russian president called on Ukraine to lay down its arms and warned other countries not to interfere. Otherwise, "consequences that have never been seen before" await.

Later on Thursday, the Kremlin announces that the operation will continue "as long as necessary".

Chaos in the streets

Ukraine has now broken all diplomatic relations with Russia for the first time since the country became independent from the Soviet Union in 1991, writes the news agency AFP.

Except in the capital Kiev, where plane alarms were reported to sound early in the morning, explosions have been reported from Kharkiv, Kramatorsk and Mariupol, among others. The aircraft alarm has also gone off in the city of Lviv in western Ukraine. Witnesses tell of bangs and explosions in several places.

People have taken to the streets and queues have formed outside ATMs when people want to withdraw their money.

"There is panic, you do not see it," Yevheni Balai of Slovyansk in eastern Ukraine, queuing outside a closed bank hoping to withdraw cash, told The New York Times.

Pictures that are spread on social media show how store shelves are starting to be emptied of water and other goods.

Residents of Kiev have also sought refuge in the subway, which has been opened up to serve as a shelter. People queue at bus stations to buy tickets and leave the capital at the same time as the car queues meander long from Kiev to the west.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on Twitter that Russia had launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

"Ukrainian cities are under attack. This is a war of aggression. Ukraine will defend itself and win. The world can and must stop Putin. The time to act is now."

Attacks in several places

Heavy fighting is reported from various quarters during the early Thursday morning.

Russia claims that no civilian Ukrainians need to worry. The presidency of Ukraine, on the other hand, reports that dozens of people have been killed, including several civilians.

The Ukrainian military also says it has killed about 50 "Russian occupiers" in the city of Shchastya in Luhansk, which it also claims to have regained control of. Information about the battles comes from several different sources and is difficult to confirm.

Russian ground troops have entered Ukraine from both Russia and Belarus and previously illegally annexed the Crimean peninsula, the border control announced. The attacks take place in the regions of Luhansk, Sumy, Kharkiv and Zytomyr.

Pictures from security cameras, published by Ukraine, show how a long line of combat vehicles roll into Ukraine from Crimea, writes the news agency AP.

Information about shot down planes

Several military installations in different parts of Ukraine have been attacked in air strikes. Russia's Defense Ministry announces that it has "neutralized" Ukraine's military air bases and its air defense systems.

At the same time, the Ukrainian military says it has shot down six Russian warplanes and a helicopter in the eastern parts of the country, near the Russian-controlled separatist areas.

Russia states that it is targeting military targets with precision weapons, and that it has avoided populated areas.

During the night, several Ukrainian government sites were reported to be inaccessible