EXPLOSIONS 💥 HEARD ACROSS UKRAINE AS RUSSIA 🪆 LAUNCHES MILITARY ATTACK

By Chandrayee Roy Choudhury, Canada: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday announced a military operation in Ukraine and warned other countries that any attempt to interfere with the Russian action would lead to "consequences they have never seen."



He said the attack was needed to protect civilians in Eastern Ukraine — a claim the U.S. had predicted he would falsely make to justify an invasion.



In a televised address, Putin accused the U.S. and its allies of ignoring Russia's demand to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO and offer Moscow security guarantees. He said Russia's goal was not to occupy Ukraine.



As Putin spoke before dawn, explosions were heard in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odesa and other cities across Ukraine.



A news website cited a Ukrainian interior ministry official as saying that Ukrainian military command centers in the cities of Kyiv and Kharkiv were attacked by missile strikes.