According to eyewitness accounts, the territory of Ukraine is under massive rocket fire. Air defense units, military bases and air bases, as well as command and control systems are being hit.
Eyewitnesses reported a series of powerful explosions in Kharkiv, Odessa, Dnipro, Mariupol and on the outskirts of Kiev.
Putin described the goals of the special operation as “protecting people who have been subjected to abuse and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years,” “demilitarization and denationalization of Ukraine,” and “bringing to justice those who have committed numerous bloody crimes against civilians, including citizens of the Russian Federation.”
At the same time, according to Putin, “all responsibility for the bloodshed will be on the conscience of the Ukrainian authorities.
At the end of his speech, he warned those who “decide from the outside to intervene in the events taking place.” “Russia’s response will be immediate and will lead you to consequences that you have never faced before in your history.”