Brief Facts:
- Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a military operation in Ukraine
- Ukrainian government imposed martial law across the country
- Russian missile attacks and shelling hit Ukrainian military and civilians
- Ukraine breaks diplomatic relations with Russia.
- Russia is using fakes for misinformation
- Fight for Hostomel: many Russian aircraft attack Hostomel, a town just around 7 km away from Kyiv; Russian troops landed on Antonov Airport, an establishment of significant strategic importance; Ukrainian military were forced to inflict an artillery strike upon it
- Fight for Chornobyl: Russian invaders try to break to Chornobyl, where the nuclear reactor disaster once happened, and the collectors of dangerous radioactive waste are situated.
Latest news:
11:09 Territorial Defense Forces of Ukraine: Territorial Defense removed age restrictions on joining the forces. All procedures have been simplified. "Today Ukraine needs everyone," written in the statement.
6:18 State Border Guard Service of Ukraine: "At 4.25 enemy attacked border guard unit in Zaporizzia region by rockets. As a result of attack there are casualties."
Read more: Despite Common Sense Putin Starts Full-Scale War Against Ukraine
The Pentagon: Russia has launched at least 160 short-range, medium-range and cruise missiles into Ukraine from land, sea and air, and more Russian troops have entered Ukraine. The missiles are aimed at military bases and airfields around Kharkiv and Kyiv – according to the Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III.
"Again, there is no way to verify how accurate they are or what casualties they are causing," said the official.
05:50 Russia already lost around 800 men, Ukraine's Defense Ministry reports. Enemy losses also include seven planes, six helicopters, 130 armored fighting vehicles, and over 30 tanks.
At least 10 russian occupiers taken captive by Ukrainian military
At least 10 russian occupiers taken captive by Ukrainian military.
03:10 President Volodymyr Zelensky established commander-in-chief wartime headquarters. The President signed a decree on February 24 to form the military administration and approved its personnel as Russian forces continue to launch attacks on Ukraine.
02:10 13 border guards were killed defending Ukraine’s Zmiinyi Island (Snake Island) in the Black Sea. President Volodymyr Zelensky said the border guards will be awarded the Hero of Ukraine award posthumously.
The island, one of the country’s southernmost settlements, was eventually captured by the Russian forces, Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service said in a statement late on Feb 24. In his video address,
President Volodymyr Zelensky also said thatUkrainian forces suffered losses on the first day of Russia’s attack – 137 Ukrainians were killed, 10 of the killed Ukrainie’s defenders were military officers, while 316 people were injured.
00:35 Fabruary 25 Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Lieutenant General Valery Zaluzhny:
"This difficult day ended with us not allowing the enemy to achieve his plans of aggression. The 19th hour of our resistance to the large-scale Russian invasion continues.
As of 00:00 on February 25, a group of defense forces is waging an organized defense operation in the south. Defensive battles are being fought in the area east of Kherson.
Mechanized units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine recaptured the road bridge and took hold on the left bank of the Dnieper River.
00:06 President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree ordering a general mobilisation as Ukraine faces a large-scale invasion by Russian troops.
Conscripts and reservists in all of Ukraine’s regions will be called up according to the decree published by the Ukrainian presidency, which is to be in effect for 90 days.
22.35 The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine summed up the results of combat actions Russias army as of 20:00 on February24.
First of all, it became known that 60 battalion tactical groups out of 90 have already been sent in combat on the territory of Ukraine. The enemy is concentrating its main efforts on the Slobozhansky, Seversky, and Tavriya directions.
The Russian Army, according to the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, has an extremely low morale.
In general, the enemy's plan has finally become clear: "the main purpose of the operation is to block Kyiv, create a land corridor between the Crimean peninsula and the self-proclaimed Transnistrian region," –stated in the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
21.24 According to the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, 57 Ukrainians were killed and 169 were wounded in the Russian attack on Thursday, February 24. "According to latest data, 57 Ukrainians were killed as a result of the Russian attack. Another 169 were wounded," - Minister of Health of Ukraine stated this on TSN.
21.10 Adviser to the Minister of Internal Affairs Vadym Denysenko: The enemy has destroyed six bridges and fired on 32 civilian facilities.
“To date, 393 attacks on our territory by the Russian occupiers have been recorded. Russian occupiers say they are not firing on civilian targets, only on military ones. So at this point, we can already say that six bridges have been destroyed and 32 civilian facilities have been shelled by Russian troops,” adviser to the Minister of Internal Affairs Vadym Denysenko said, the Ministry’s press service informs.
Denysenko also informed that two unknown ships approached the Zmiyinyi Island, fired on, gave an indefinite period of time for our border guards to surrender and then left the island. Currently, Ukrainian border guards remain the control of the island.
In addition, in a number of cities in Ukraine - Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Mykolayiv – “curfew is already imposed or will be imposed."
21.00 The Armed Forces of Ukraine have regained control of Hostomel airport in Kyiv region - Ukrinform reports citing Oleksiy Arestovych, a non-staff adviser to the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine.
"The Armed Forces regained Hostomel [airport]. [Russia’s] landing party was annihilated," Oleksiy Arestovych posted on Facebook.
Earlier, it was reported that the occupiers took control of the International Airport “State Enterprise Antonov” in Hostomel, less than 10 km of Kyiv.
20:50 Presidental Office: Russian invasion forces have taken an "operational break", and now are regrouping. Still, positional fighting continues along the whole Russia-Ukraine border, stated Mykhaylo Podoliak at a briefing at the Office of the President of Ukraine. He mentioned Russian Forces hitting civilian infrastructure, along with the military one.
Ministry of Internal Affairs: 6 border guard posts and 32 civilian objects were shelled by Russians.
19:16 The Russian military has seized the Chornobyl nuclear power plant – reports pravda.com.ua citing an adviser to the Ukrainian presidential office, Mykhailo Podolyak.
"After the brutal battle, our control over the Chernobyl site has been lost. The condition of the former Chernobyl nuclear power plant, confinement and nuclear waste storage facilities is unknown," - Mykhailo Podolyak stated.
Earler Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that seizing of Chernobyl is a declaration of war against the whole of Europe. “Russian occupation forces are trying to seize the #Chornobyl_NPP. Our defenders are giving their lives so that the tragedy of 1986 will not be repeated. Reported this to @SwedishPM. This is a declaration of war against the whole of Europe,” - Zelenskyy posted in Twitter.
18.45 The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine summed up the results of combat actions Russias army as of 17:00 on February 24.
The statement said that the enemy continues to act aggressively along the common border. At the same time, the enemy has already been stopped in many directions, and positions in the Donbass have been restored along the entire line of combat contact.
18:33 Commander in Chief of Armed Forces of Ukraine: the whole platoon of Russian military surrendered at once. The reconnaissance platoon of the 74th Motorized Rifle Brigade participated in military drills in Yelnya, Russia (245 km north of Ukraine) and then suddenly were deployed to the frontline.
Buinichev Konstantin, the Sergeant first class of the 74th Motorized Rifle Brigade: "Nobody thought, we were going to kill. We weren't to fight, we gathered information."
18:15 Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine: Russian Army is trying to break through the defense line near Chornobyl, where the buried Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant is situated.
Anton Gerashchenko, Official Adviser to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine: Ukrainian National Guard is fighting for the security of the collectors of unsafe nuclear radioactive waste in the Chornobyl NPP zone.
"If the invaders' artillery hits and ruins / damages the collectors of nuclear waste, radioactive nuclear dust can be spread over the territory of Ukraine, Belarus, and the countries of the EU!" wrote the official on Facebook.
18:07 Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security: Ukraine implemented a curfew in several cities – from 22:00 till 7:00 Kyiv, and from 22:00 till 6:00 in Cherkasy region, Mykolaiv, and Dnipro.
18:04 State Border Guard Service of Ukraine: Russian Armed Forces used aviation against Ukrainian border guards and soldiers of the Armed Forces on the Zmiinyi Island. Shelling from ship weapons continues, too.
17:32 Defense Express: President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a speech. According to him, Russia has already been put sanctions upon. He also called for Ukrainians to help Ukrainian Armed Forces and for Russians to engage in protests meetings against Russian governers.
17:22 Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine: the National Guard of Ukraine engaged in combat with Russian aircraft in Hostomel, near Kyiv. The National Guard servicemen knocked down three helicopters of a total of 34. Russian attack featured assault aircraft, fighter jets, and helicopters. The Ukrainian military had to inflict an artillery strike on the airfield where Russian landing troops tried to establish control.
Defense Express memo: Antonov Airport in Hostomel is an international cargo airport and testing facility in Ukraine, located near Hostomel, a small town approximately 7 km away from Kyiv.
The airport is owned by the Antonov aircraft manufacturing company and operated by its subsidiary Antonov Airlines. The only An-225, the world's largest operating aircraft, is based in Hostomel.
17:16 Ukrainian Ground Forces: a video published of a K-52 "Alligator", knocked down by Ukrainian military
16:56 Ukrainian Ground Forces: Ukrainian soldiers used FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank missile systems to destroy a column of 15 Russian vehicles.
General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine: "In the Hlukhov area, the military used Javelin anti-aircraft missiles and neutralized a column of Russian vehicles - 15 T-72 tanks."
16:46 Joint Forces Operation: 16 Russian tanks tried to break through the defense line near Pyshchevyk village, Donbas. Ukrainian Armed Forces destroyed three of the tanks using NLAW anti-tank missile systems.
16:42 Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine: four ballistic missiles were launched from the territory of Belarus towards the southwestern direction.
16:35 Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine: Zmiinyi island in the Black Sea was attacked by Russian warships. Receiver naval weaponry was used to fire on Ukrainian military's positions.
15:00 Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine: "Since the start of the day, 203 shellings and 7 facts of illegal border crossing happened. Fighting continues, in fact, across the whole country," said Vadym Denysenko, Adviser to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine. He also stressed that all the servicemen are on duty defending their country despite all the Russian fakes and misinformation.
14:55 State Border Guard Service of Ukraine released a statement as follows:
"The situation regarding the Russian invasion.
Border guards together with the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other security and defense forces continue to defend Ukraine. We will note that the armed forces of the aggressor state of the Russian Federation carried out invasion in many directions. The fire on the border units and checkpoints was carried out by artillery and aircraft, followed by the movement of military equipment. In particular, the Russian aggression took place within the Luhansk, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Zhytomyr, Kherson, Odessa regions, on Zmiiniy Island and in the area of environmental protection. Depending on the development of the situation, the border units are redeployed to reserve positions and work together with Ukrainian soldiers."
14:36 Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine: Russia is spreading fakes about the Ukrainian Army allegedly having given up, State Border Guard surrendering without combat, and Ukrainian police's absence from service. These statements are not true. "The Police are working, the National Guard is on duty, the Border Guards are on duty. Don't believe Russian fakes," said Vadym Denysenko, Adviser to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine.
14:30 State Emergency Service of Ukraine: a military aircraft fell near Kyiv. The flame broke out during the fall. 14 people were on board, 5 people died. The reason for the fall is unknown.
14:19 Adviser to the Head of the Office of the President: The main goal of Russia, for now, is to destabilize the situation in Ukraine and to make Ukrainian state authorities unable to rule the country:
"The key task of Russians... is to replace the senior management of the country, to create a maximum panic. In other words, to decapitate all Ukrainian management" and bring their own puppet rulers that would sign a sort of bilateral agreement with Russia, said Mykhailo Podoliak, the President's advisor.
13:32 General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, citing the Joint Forces Command: "Two Russian helicopters were destroyed by the Ukrainian Armed Forces near Hostomel (near Kyiv – DE memo)." Video: Ukrainian Ground Forces
13:14 Communication Department of the National Police of Ukraine: Police are asking citizens to report suspicious people on the streets. The statement goes: "enforcement officers draw people's attention to suspicious persons and/or objects. All suspicious items, as well as suspicious persons with red items on their clothes, should be reported"
Later a photo of two captured Russian soldiers was published by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine with red stripes on their arms and legs.
13:06 State Border Guard Service of Ukraine: Russian Army is trying to break through the state border in the Kyiv region. Border guards took up the defense. The guards' positions in the neighboring Zhytomyr region were shelled by Russian BM-21 "Grad" 122 mm multiple rocket launchers.
13:03 Official website of the President of Ukraine: Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the provision of weapons to all citizens who want to defend Ukraine's sovereignty.
"The future of our Ukrainian people depends on every citizen. Everyone who has combat experience and can join the defense of Ukraine must come to the appropriate centers. The Ministry of Internal Affairs will involve veterans in the defense of the state," he said.
The President also called on citizens to join the donation of blood for wounded defenders.
12:57 Minister of Defense Oleksii Reznikov: Ukraine is to receive more military support from international partners, according to Defense Express.
12:44 Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba: the invasion is not solely from the east, but from multiple directions.
12:33 General Staff of the Forces of Ukraine, citing Joint Forces Operation: a plane of the Russian armed forces was shot down over the Luhansk region, Donbas. This is the seventh plane of the occupiers shot down by Ukrainian air defense units today.
12:18 General Staff of the Forces of Ukraine: The attack on Zmiinyi island was repelled
12:10 State Border Guard Service of Ukraine: around 5:00 AM EET(Eastern European Time) the state Ukraine-Russia-Belarus border was attacked by Russian Forces, supported by Belarus. Attacks on the border guards' positions feature artillery heavy machinery and rifle fire.
Also, Russian military equipment was spotted crossing the administrative border between Russia-occupied Crimea and Ukraine-controlled territories. Video by State Border Guard Service of Ukraine.
12:02 General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine: Russian Forces were stopped in the Chernihiv region (Northern Ukraine). On Kharkiv city bypass road 4 occupants' tanks were burnt. Ukrainian military regained full control over Mariupol and Shchastya towns of Donbas. "At least 6 aircraft and 2 helicopters and dozens of armored materiel pieces were destroyed... approximately 50 Russian occupants were killed."
11:31 Official website of the President of Ukraine: President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held an urgent meeting with the leadership of the government, representatives of the defense sector, and the economic bloc.
Defense Express: After the meeting, he held a briefing announcing that Ukraine has broken diplomatic relations with Russia.
11:02 Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine: two unidentified surface objects approached Zmiinyi island (the Black Sea, Southern Ukraine) and started threatening border state service personnel. Russian Forces used international shipping safety communication channels to demand surrender from the Ukrainian border garrison of servicemen. Border guards prepared for defense.
Three civilians were killed by Russian occupiers due to the shelling in Donbas.
10:01 Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine on Twitter: "Columns of the Russians tanks entered in Luhansk region on the frontier of Krasna Talivka, Milove, Horodyshche. Before the columns, enemy used white automobiles with OSCE symbols."
09:16 Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine informed: the airstrike on cantonment №161 in Brovarskyi resulted in the ruination of buildings, one person was killed, one injured, 5 more harmed. A civilian automobile got under fire in the Konotopskyi district, a woman and a child were harmed. In the Odesa region 6 people died, 7 got injured, 19 went missing. In Mariupol city, Donbas one person got killed, two were injured. A number of facilities got damaged.
08:56 General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine informed: "In the Joined Forces Operation area [the temporarily occupied by Russia territories] 5 aircraft and 2 helicopters of Russian Aerospace Forces were shot, two tanks were damaged, several trucks of the armed forces of the Russian Federation were destroyed." – General Staff press center on Facebook.
Background:
February, 24 – Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized a "special military operation" against Ukraine, Reuters report. A number of cities of Ukraine suffered a missile attack. Missiles hit several military facilities in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnipro cities. "Putin has just launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Peaceful Ukrainian cities are under strikes. This is a war of aggression," wrote Ukrainian MoF Dmytro Kuleba on Twitter.
"Today, on 24 of February, at 5.00 AM the armed forces of the Russian Federation launched an intensive shelling of our units on east, delivered missile/bomb strikes on airfields in Boryspil, Ozerne, Kulbakino, Chuhuiv, Kramatorsk, Chornobaivka, as well as on military infrastructure of the Armed Forces of Ukraine," the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine wrote on Facebook: "At the same time the aggressor started artillery shelling of the areas and settlements along the state border and administrative boundary with temporarily occupied territory of Crimea."
National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, headed by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, imposed martial law across the country, the decision was approved by the Ukrainian government during an emergency session.
Earlier Putin recognized the Russia-backed regions of Eastern Ukraine as "independent" entities, the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics. The executive order on the recognition of those illegal formations included a point on military cooperation and "peacekeeping" functions of the Russian Army in those regions. The next day Putin ordered his military to enter Donbas and asked the government for permission to use Russian Forces outside the country – and received it shortly after.
Read more: Ukraine’s President Zelensky Addresses to Ukrainians: Russia has Started War Against Ukraine, Martial Law Imposed Across Country
