Ukraine, Feb 24: Ukraine confirms that at least seven people were killed and nine wounded by Russian shelling, as per a report. The casualties are the latest in a series of fast-paced developments that began when Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a military operation in Ukraine early Thursday.
Following this, shelling was reported in several areas of Ukraine and air sirens went off in Kyiv, indicating that the capital city is under attack. Shortly afterwards, the Russian defence ministry said that Ukraine’s air bases and military infrastructure has been neutralised, according to an IFX news agency report. Russian-backed separatists claimed control of two towns in the Luhansk region of Ukraine, said Reuters.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy Thursday declared martial law in the country and the Ukrainian foreign minister vowed to fight and defeat Russia. For days now, the Russia-Ukraine borders have seen large deployments of Russian military columns. Tensions had climbed after Putin recognised two separatist regions in Ukraine as independent and ordered the deployment of what he called peacekeepers.
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Ukraine has also asked Turkey to close the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits to Russian ships and wants sanctions imposed on Moscow, Ukraine’s ambassador to Ankara said Thursday after Russia launched air and ground assaults on its neighbour.
NATO member Turkey Ukraine, which shares a maritime Black Sea border with Ukraine and Russia, opposes sanctions but has called Russian steps against Ukraine unacceptable. Under a 1936 pact, Ankara has control over the straits and can limit warship passages if it is threatened or during wartime.
“We are calling for the air space, Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits to be closed. We have conveyed our relevant demand to the Turkish side. At the same time, we want sanctions imposed on the Russian side,” Ambassador Vasyl Bodnar told a news conference in Ankara.
