Europe 1 with AFP 10:22 a.m., February 24, 2022

The Russian army began an invasion of Ukraine overnight from Wednesday to Thursday in the form of coordinated attacks on several fronts, in the north, and mainly in the east of the country, using rockets and helicopters in the southern sector. against the Ukrainian positions.

A few dozen deaths are currently to be deplored.

A Russian military operation was launched in Ukraine on Thursday at dawn, where powerful explosions sounded in several cities of the country, Kiev claiming that a "large-scale invasion" was underway.

Since then, Russian ground forces have entered Ukrainian territory, particularly from annexed Crimea, Ukrainian border guards said on Thursday.

"Russian military vehicles, including armored vehicles, violated the border in the regions of Chernigiv (north, Belarusian border), Sumy (northeast, Russian border), Lugansk and Kharkiv (east, Russian border)" by the point crossing between the peninsula and the mainland of Ukraine, they said. 

The first evacuations begin

On the main eastern roads, the Ukrainian army was everywhere.

Between Kramatorsk and Kharkiv, a column of vehicles bearing the blue-yellow flag was stationary.

300 km away, Mariupol, the main port in the east of the country, powerful explosions shook the city, which has been relatively spared in recent weeks.

In the area, the first evacuations have begun, notably from the small towns of Zoloty and Gorsky.

"We will take people to the nearest station," said Alexei Babchenko, spokesman for the civil defense.

But further away, in the town of Novotochkovka, such evacuations are now impossible.

A few hours after the start of the offensive, Russian artillery fire was already too heavy and communications complicated.

"The offensive is underway along the entire demarcation line in the Lugansk and Donetsk regions," said Alexei Babchenko.

"Fighting is happening everywhere."

"We cannot yet receive information about the victims, because there is no communication in this area."

A few dozen dead

This Thursday morning, the balance sheet of the losses of the Ukrainian armed forces at the start of the Russian offensive rose to three dead, all suffered along the southern border with Crimea annexed by Moscow, again announced the border guards.

The Ukrainian army, for its part, claimed to have killed around fifty "Russian occupiers" on Thursday morning and to have shot down five Russian planes and helicopters.

“On February 24, nearly 50 Russian occupants were liquidated near the town of Shchastia”, in eastern Ukraine, assured the staff of the Ukrainian army in a press release. 

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For its part, Moscow has announced that it has closed the Sea of ​​Azov, which borders Russia and Ukraine, to navigation, Russian press agencies reported.

“Navigation in the waters of the Sea of ​​Azov has been suspended since 4:00 a.m. (01:00 GMT) in the morning until further notice,” said the Russian maritime agency Rosmorretchflot, quoted by Interfax.