MAP: See Where Ukraine Has Been Attacked So Far After Russia Launches Invasion
Shelling and missile strikes have been reported around the country
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NBC
Russian troops have launched a broad assault on Ukraine from all sides. The attack began before dawn and brought explosions to the Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, and other cities.
Ukraine’s leadership said Thursday dozens people have been killed and wounded so far in what it called a “full-scale war” targeting the country from the east, north and south.
Ukrainian authorities later described ground invasions in multiple regions, and border guards released video of a line of Russian military vehicles crossing into Ukraine’s government-held territory.
Russian troops were seen breaking through the Kyiv region, NBC News reports, advancing from the north past the state border between the capital city and Belarus, Ukraine's Ministry of the Interior said.
In a post to its Telegram channel, the ministry said Russian military personnel and tanks had entered through the Vilcha checkpoint, less than 100 miles north of the capital on a road which runs directly to the city.
See How Russia's Attacks on Ukraine Unfolded
There have been dozens of reports of attacks in Ukraine since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a military invasion into the country on Feb. 23, 2022.
Note: Timeline in Eastern Time
Source: NBC News
Credit: Andrew Williams/NBC
Russian forces seized control of the now-unused Chernobyl plant and its surrounding exclusion zone after a fierce battle. The Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency called for “maximum restraint” to avoid actions that could put Ukraine’s nuclear facilities at risk. Earlier, a Ukrainian official told the AP that Russian shelling hit a radioactive waste repository, with a reported increase in radiation levels.
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Firefighters respond to a four story residential building after it was hit by a “kamikaze drone” attack early morning, Oct. 17, 2022, in Kyiv, Ukraine. Approximately three people were killed.
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Smoke rises over the street after a drone attack in Kyiv, Oct. 17, 2022, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. – Ukraine officials said Kyiv had been struck four times in an early morning Russian attack with Iranian drones that damaged a residential building and targeted the central train station.
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A Ukrainian woman is seen with her child after the Russian attacks in Kyiv, Ukraine, Oct. 17, 2022. It was reported that at least four explosions were heard in Ukraineâs capital Kyiv on Monday as authorities reported attacks by Russian kamikaze drones.
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Firefighters work on a building destroyed by Russian strikes in Kyiv, Ukraine, Oct. 17, 2022.
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The city council in Kupyansk, Kharkiv, Ukraine, destroyed by shelling by Russian forces on Oct. 16, 2022.
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Police examine destroyed cars in Kyiv after several Russian strikes hit the capital, Oct. 10, 2022. The strikes come two days after an explosion damaged the Kirsh Bridge – Russia’s sole link to annexed Crimea.
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A rescue worker escorts an injured resident and her dogs out of a building after several Russian strikes hit Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, Oct. 10, 2022. The strikes come two days after an explosion damaged the Kirsh Bridge – Russia’s sole link to annexed Crimea.
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People hug outside a partially destroyed office building after several Russian strikes hit Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, Oct. 10, 2022. The head of the Ukrainian military said that Russian forces launched at least 75 missiles at Ukraine Monday morning, with fatal strikes targeting the capital as well as cities in the south and west. The strikes come two days after an explosion damaged the Kirsh Bridge – Russia’s sole link to annexed Crimea.
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Residents examine a crater following a missile strike in Dnipro, Ukraine, Oct. 10, 2022. The strikes come two days after an explosion damaged the Kirsh Bridge – Russia’s sole link to annexed Crimea.
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Black smoke billows from a fire on the Kerch bridge that links Crimea to Russia, after a truck exploded on the bridge near Kirch, Oct. 8, 2022. The explosion damaged Russia’s sole land link with annexed Crimea in a symbolic win for Ukraine.
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A local resident cycles past an abandoned Russian T-72 tank in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, Sept. 29, 2022. Russia’s latest invasion into Ukraine has lasted over 200 days, with an end to the conflict nowhere in sight.
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Destroyed churches seen in Bohorodychne village in Kramatorsk, Donetsk region, Sept. 13, 2022. Russia said on September 13 it was carrying out “massive strikes” across the Ukrainian front line.
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Destroyed houses seen after a strike in Pryvillya, Donbas, June 14, 2022, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The cities of Severodonetsk and Lysychansk, which are separated by a river, have been targeted for weeks as the last areas still under Ukrainian control in the eastern Luhansk region.
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A local community art center is destroyed following a strike in Lysychansk, Donbas, June 17, 2022, as the Russian-Ukraine war enters its 114th day.
Aris Messinis/AFP via Getty Images
Ukrainian soldiers inspect a destroyed warehouse reportedly targeted by Russian troops on outskirts of Lysychansk, Donbas, on June 17, 2022, as the Russian-Ukraine war enters its 114th day.
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The tail of a rocket is nailed into a pavement in the city of Lysychansk, Donbas, on June 17, 2022, as the Russian-Ukraine war enters its 114th day.
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The Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, under the Donetsk People’s Republic, eastern Ukraine, May 12, 2022. Mariupol's last defenders surrendered to Russian forces mid-May after weeks of assaults below the steelworks plant, as Russia sought to solidify its influence over the separatist-controlled territory of Donbas.
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Police walk among the rubble of a destroyed house in Bohdanivka village, April 14, 2022, amid Russia’s invasion launched on Ukraine.
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Calcinated cars seen outside a train station hit by a Russian rocket attack killing at least 35 people, on April 8, 2022, in Kramatorsk, Ukraine. The station was being used for civilian evacuations at the time.
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A picture taken on March 21, 2022 shows a view of the damage at the Retroville shopping mall, a day after it was shelled by Russian forces in a residential district in the northwest of the Ukranian capital Kyiv. At least six people were killed in the bombing.
Anadolu Agency
In this photo, newborn babies are seen inside their cribs in Kyiv, Ukraine on March 17, 2022. Surrogate-born babies cannot reunite with their biological families due to ongoing Russian attacks in Ukraine.
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The main television tower in Kyiv after it was hit by a Russian airstrike the day before, March 2, 2022.
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Police officers pass by the wreckage of a building after reported shelling in Kyiv, Ukraine, March 2, 2022.
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A man cuddles a newborn baby in the basement of a maternity hospital, which was converted to a medical ward and used as a shelter amid Russian attacks in Kyiv, Ukraine, March 2, 2022.
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Jordanian nationals who fled the war in Ukraine reunite with relatives at the Marka military airport, Amman, Jordan, upon their evacuation by a military flight from Romania on March 2, 2022.
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Distraught women and children fleeing war-torn Ukraine wait to cross into Poland at the Korczowa crossing, March 2, 2022 near Korczowa, Poland.
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Ukrainians work on a camouflage net for the army in Lviv, Ukraine, March 2, 2022.
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Rocket fire launched by Russian invaders damages a five-story hostel in Vasylkiv, Ukraine.
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A Ukrainian armored personnel carrier (APC) BTR-4 destroyed as a result of fight not far from the center of Kharkiv, Ukraine, Feb. 28, 2022, a little over 30 miles from the Russian-Ukrainian border.
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A school is reduced to a pile of rubble after fight in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Feb. 28, 2022. The fight was only a little over 30 miles from the Russian-Ukrainian border.
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Ukrainian territorial defense forces hug in a basement used as a military base on the fifth day since start of large-scale Russian attacks in the country, in Dnipro, Ukraine, Feb. 28, 2022.
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A woman stands amid damage due to armed conflict in Donetsk region under the control of pro-Russian separatists, Ukraine, Feb. 28, 2022.
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A refugee sits by a fire after crossing the Ukrainian-Polish border, Medyka, Poland, on Feb. 28, 2022.
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People construct barricades outside schools and public buildings on the fifth day since Russia invaded Ukraine, in Dnipro, Ukraine, Feb. 28, 2022.
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Refugees from Ukraine gather to take a bus from the border crossing in Medyka to Przemysl, eastern Poland, Feb. 28, 2022.
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Refugees from Ukraine arrive at a temporary shelter on Feb. 28, 2022, near Korczowa, Poland.
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A large deployment of Russian ground forces containing hundreds of military vehicles are seen in convoy northeast of Ivankiv, Ukraine, on Feb. 27, 2022. The convoy —which extends for more than 3.25 miles — contains fuel, logistics and armored vehicles moving towards Kyiv.
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A boy plays on a swing in front of a damaged residential block hit by an early morning missile strike on Feb. 25, 2022, in Kyiv, Ukraine.
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Firemen extinguish a fire inside a residential building damaged by a missile on Feb. 25, 2022 in Kyiv, Ukraine.
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Ukrainian servicemen ride on tanks towards the front line with Russian forces in the Lugansk region of Ukraine on Feb. 25, 2022.
Evgeniy Maloletka/AP
People gather in a shelter during Russian shelling, in Mariupol, Ukraine, Feb. 24, 2022.
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People clean out damaged homes after attacks in Yasinovataya (Yasynuvata) controlled by the pro-Russian separatists, self-proclaimed so-called Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR), Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.
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Children leave a damaged home after attacks in Yasinovataya (Yasynuvata) controlled by the pro-Russian separatists, self-proclaimed so-called Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR), Ukraine, Feb. 24, 2022.
Emilio Morenatti/AP
A woman holds her baby as they leave Kyiv, Ukraine, by bus on Feb. 24, 2022. Russia launched a wide-ranging attack on Ukraine on Thursday, hitting cities and bases with airstrikes or shelling, as civilians piled into trains and cars to flee.
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Inhabitants of Kyiv leave the city following pre-offensive missile strikes of the Russian armed forces and Belarus, Feb. 24, 2022, in Kyiv, Ukraine. Overnight, Russia began a large-scale attack on Ukraine, with explosions reported in multiple cities and far outside the restive eastern regions held by Russian-backed rebels.
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Police and security personnel inspect gather by the remains of a shell landed in a street in Kyiv on Feb. 24, 2022. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a military operation in Ukraine on Thursday with explosions heard soon after across the country and its foreign minister warning a “full-scale invasion” was underway.
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Ukrainian firefighters arrive to rescue civilians after an airstrike hit an apartment complex in Chuhuiv, Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine, Feb. 24, 2022.
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Black smoke rises from a military airport in Chuguyev near Kharkiv on Feb. 24, 2022.
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Firefighters work on a building caught on fire after the eastern Ukraine town of Chuguiv was bombed,, Feb. 24, 2022, as Russian armed forces are trying to invade Ukraine from several directions.
Efrem Lukatsky/AP
A man stands in front of a Russian Ka-52 helicopter gunship that is seen in a field after a forced landing outside Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022.
Evgeniy Maloletka/AP
A woman walks past the debris in the aftermath of Russian shelling, in Mariupol, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022.
AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda
Ukrainian servicemen sit atop armored personnel carriers driving on a road in the Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022.
AP Photo/Sergei Grits
A metallurgical plant is seen on the outskirts of the city of Mariupol, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. The city is one of many attacked by Russian forces.
Evgeniy Maloletka/AP
Smoke rises from an air defense base in the aftermath of an apparent Russian strike in Mariupol, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022.
Sergei Grits/AP
Damaged radar arrays and other equipment is seen at a Ukrainian military facility outside Mariupol, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022.
Andrew Marienko/AP
People stand next to fragments of military equipment on the street in the aftermath of an apparent Russian strike in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022.
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This photograph taken on Feb. 24, 2022, shows smoke rising near the town of Hostomel and the Antonov Airport, in northwest Kyiv.
Efrem Lukatsky/AP
Smoke and flame rise from the debris of a private house in the aftermath of Russian shelling outside Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022.
Large parts of the Chernobyl Zone have been closed to the public for decades after a nuclear power reactor melted down there during the Soviet Union's reign in 1986, causing the release of large amounts of radiation in the air across Europe.
Some of most intense fighting was outside of Kharkiv in the northeast, according to a senior U.S. Defense Department official.
In an address, President Volodymyr said 137 soldiers were killed and 316 injured on Thursday Feb. 24, noting that all border guards defending Zmiinyi island died.
Russian ground forces were also reported advancing from the east through Donetsk and Luhansk, the two separatist-held areas recognized by Russian President Vladimir Putin as independent this week in a prelude to the attack, and from Crimea, the southern region that Russia annexed in 2014.
A senior U.S. defense official told the AP that Thursday's attack by Russia appears to be the first phase in what will likely be a multiple phased, large-scale invasion.
This is a live update. Click here for complete coverage of the crisis in Ukraine.
