24 February 2022

Shortly before 06:00 Moscow Time (UTC+3) on 24 February, Putin announced that he had made the decision to launch a "special military operation" in eastern Ukraine. In his address, Putin claimed there were no plans to occupy Ukrainian territory and claimed that he supported the right of the peoples of Ukraine to self-determination. Putin also stated that Russia sought the "demilitarisation and denazification" of Ukraine—the latter a claim that news outlets CNN and NBC called "baseless" and "false" and which was condemned by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum—and urged the Ukrainian military to lay down their arms and go to their homes. In light of a request by the Russian Ministry of Defence asking air traffic control units of Ukraine to stop flights, airspace over Ukraine was restricted to non-civilian air traffic, with the whole area being deemed an active conflict zone by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).

Within minutes of Putin's announcement, explosions were reported in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odessa, and the Donbas. Ukrainian officials said that Russia had landed troops in Mariupol and Odessa and launched cruise and ballistic missiles at airfields, military headquarters, and military depots in Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Dnipro. Military vehicles entered Ukraine through Senkivka, at the point where Ukraine meets Belarus and Russia, at around 6:48 am local time. A video captured Russian troops entering Ukraine from Russian-annexed Crimea. The Kremlin planned to initially target artillery and missiles at command and control centres and then send fighter jets and helicopters to quickly gain air superiority. The Center for Naval Analyses said that Russia would create a pincer movement to encircle Kyiv and envelop Ukraine's forces in the east, with the Center for Strategic and International Studies identifying three axes of advance: from Belarus in the north, from Donetsk, and from Crimea in the south. The US said it believed that Russia intended to "decapitate" Ukraine's government and install their own, with American intelligence officials believing that Kyiv would fall within 96 hours given circumstances on the ground.

According to Ukrainian Minister of State Anton Herashchenko, just after 06:30 UTC+2, Russian forces were invading via land near the city of Kharkiv and large-scale amphibious landings were reported in the city of Mariupol. At 07:40, the BBC cited other sources in saying that troops were also entering the country from Belarus. The Ukrainian Border Force reported attacks on sites in Luhansk, Sumy, Kharkiv, Chernihiv and Zhytomyr, as well as from Crimea. The Russian Ministry of Defence claimed no resistance by Ukrainian border forces. The Ukrainian interior ministry reported that Russian forces captured the villages of Horodyshche and Milove in Luhansk. The Ukrainian Centre for Strategic Communication reported that the Ukrainian army beat off an attack near Shchastia (near Luhansk) and took back control of the town, claiming nearly 50 casualties from the Russian side.

After being offline for an hour, the Ukrainian Defence Ministry's website was restored. The Ministry declared that it had shot down five planes and one helicopter in Luhansk. Shortly before 07:00 (UTC+2), Zelenskyy announced the introduction of martial law in Ukraine. Later, he ordered the Ukrainian Army to "inflict maximum losses" to the invaders. Zelenskyy also announced that diplomatic relations with Russia were being severed, effective immediately. Later in the day, he announced general mobilisation. Russian missiles targeted Ukrainian infrastructure, including Ukraine's largest airport, Boryspil International, 29 km (18 mi) east of Kyiv. Ukraine closed its air space for civilian flights.

A military unit in Podilsk was attacked by Russian forces, resulting in six deaths and seven wounded. Nineteen more people were also reported missing. Another person was killed in the city of Mariupol. A house in Chuhuiv was damaged by Russian artillery; its occupants were injured and one boy died. Eighteen people were killed by Russian bombing in the village of Lipetske (Odesa Oblast).

At 10:00 (UTC+2), it was reported during the briefing of the Ukrainian presidential administration that Russian troops had invaded Ukraine from the north (up to 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) south of the border). Russian troops were said to be active in Kharkiv Oblast, Chernihiv Oblast, near Sumy. Zelenskyy's press service also reported that Ukraine had repulsed an attack in Volyn Oblast. At 10:30 (UTC+2), the Ukrainian Defence Ministry reported that Russian troops in Chernihiv Oblast had been stopped, a major battle near Kharkiv was in progress, and Mariupol and Shchastia had been fully reclaimed. The Ukrainian military claimed that six Russian planes, two helicopters, and dozens of armoured vehicles were destroyed. Russia denied having lost any aircraft or armoured vehicles. Ukrainian commander-in-chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi published photos of two captured Russian soldiers saying they were from the Russian 423rd Guards Yampolsky Motor Rifle Regiment (military unit 91701). Russia's 74th Motorized Rifle Brigade recon platoon surrendered near Chernihiv.

In the Battle of Antonov Airport, Russian airborne troops seized the Hostomel Airport in Hostomel, a suburb of Kyiv, after being transported by helicopters early in the morning; a Ukrainian counteroffensive to recapture the airport was launched later in the day. The Rapid Response Brigade of the Ukrainian National Guard stated that it had fought at the airfield, shooting down three of 34 Russian helicopters.

Belarus allowed Russian troops to invade Ukraine from the north. At 11:00 (UTC+2), Ukrainian border guards reported a border breach in Vilcha (Kyiv Oblast), and border guards in Zhytomyr Oblast were bombarded by Russian rocket launchers (presumably BM-21 Grad). A helicopter without markings reportedly bombed Slavutych border guards position from Belarus. At 11:30 (UTC+2) a second wave of Russian missile bombings targeted the cities of Kyiv, Odessa, Kharkiv, and Lviv. Heavy ground fighting was reported in the Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts. Civil rights activists in Poland reported an increase in the crossing of migrants from Belarus to Poland. Belarus is considered by observers to be taking orders from Russia and using migrants at the Polish-Belarus border as a weapon (see also 2021–2022 Belarus–European Union border crisis). By 12:04 (UTC+2), Russian troops advancing from Crimea moved towards the city of Nova Kakhovka in Kherson Oblast. Later that day, Russian troops entered the city of Kherson and took control of the North Crimean Canal, which would allow them to resume water supplies for the peninsula.

At 13:00 and 13:19 (UTC+2), Ukrainian border guards and Armed Forces reported two new clashes—near Sumy ("in the direction of Konotop") and Starobilsk (Luhansk Oblast). At 13:32 (UTC+2), Valerii Zaluzhnyi reported four ballistic missiles launched from the territory of Belarus in the southwestern direction. Several stations of Kyiv Metro and Kharkiv Metro were used as bomb shelters for the local population. A local hospital in Vuhledar (Donetsk Oblast) was reported to have been bombed with four civilians dead and 10 wounded (including 6 physicians). Ukrainian border guards reported that two Russian ships, Vasily Bykov (Project 22160 patrol ship) and Moskva, attacked and tried to capture the small Snake Island near the Danube Delta.

At 16:00 (UTC+2), Zelenskyy said that fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces had erupted in the ghost cities of Chernobyl and Pripyat. By around 18:20 (UTC+2) the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant was under Russian control, as were the surrounding areas. According to the Verkhovna Rada deputy Maryana Bezuhla, Russian troops threatened to attack Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.

At 16:18 (UTC+2), the mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, proclaimed a curfew lasting from 22:00 to 07:00. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi estimated that more than 100,000 Ukrainians had left their homes, with thousands of these crossing into Moldova and Romania. At 22:00 (UTC+2), Ukrainian State Border Guards announced that Russian forces had captured Snake Island following a naval and air bombardment of the island. All thirteen border guards on the island were killed in the bombardment, after refusing to surrender to a Russian warship; a recording of the guards refusing an offer to surrender went viral on social media. President Zelenskyy announced that the slain border guards would be posthumously granted the title of Hero of Ukraine, the country's highest honor. Seventeen civilians were confirmed killed, including thirteen killed in Southern Ukraine, three in Mariupol, and one in Kharkiv. Zelenskyy stated that 137 Ukrainian citizens—both soldiers and civilians—died on the first day of the invasion.

Shortly after 23:00 (UTC+2), President Zelenskyy ordered a general mobilization of all Ukrainian males between 18 and 60 years old; for the same reason, Ukrainian males from that age group were banned from leaving Ukraine

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/