Ukraine air defences and air bases 'destroyed': Russia

Kyiv: Russia’s defence ministry said Thursday it had neutralised Ukrainian military airbases and its air defence systems, hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a military offensive against his country’s neighbour.

“Military infrastructure at Ukrainian army air bases has been rendered out of action,” the Russian defence ministry said in a statement carried by news agencies, which added that Kyiv’s air defence systems were “eliminated”.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military said on Thursday that it had shot down five Russian planes and one helicopter in the rebel region of Luhansk.

Shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin authorised a "special military operation" in the conflict-hit Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, a series of explosions hit Ukraine's largest airport Boryspil and several military objects in eastern and southern regions of the country on Thursday, according to Interfax-Ukraine news agency.

The Ukrainian Infrastructure Ministry said it was evacuating passengers and staff from Boryspil, reports Xinhua news agency citing the media outlets.

Media reports said there were also attacks in Kharkiv city in eastern Ukraine near the Russian border, in Kramatorsk town in the frontline in eastern Ukraine, in Vasylkiv city near Kiev, in Dnipro city in central Ukraine as well as in the southern port city of Odessa.

Putin said in a televised address on Thursday morning that in response to a request from the heads of the Donbas Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk, he had decided to conduct a special military operation to protect the people "who have been suffering from abuse and genocide by the Ukrainian regime for eight years".

The Russian leader reiterated that Moscow had no plans "to occupy Ukrainian territories".

(With inputs from IANS)

Published on: Thursday, February 24, 2022, 12:25 PM IST