Explosions were heard in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv and the eastern port city of Mariupol, before dawn on Thursday shortly after Russia’s President Vladimir Putin announced an operation to “demilitarise” the country.
AFP correspondents in both cities heard powerful blasts in Kyiv and Mariupol, close to the frontline and the Russian border, as residents reported hearing artillery in the city’s eastern suburbs.
Ukraine, on Wednesday, had declared a state of emergency and advised its estimated 3 million citizens living in Russia to leave the country.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by the Ukrainian foreign ministry, it said the latest signal believes Moscow may be planning a full-scale invasion into Ukraine.
The ministry urged its citizens to refrain from travel to Russia and for those already in the country to leave as soon as possible.
It stressed that it would have limited resources to help Ukrainians who remain in Russia in case of a major diplomatic rupture between both countries.
“Due to the increased Russian aggression against Ukraine, which, among other things, may lead to a significant restriction of the ability to provide consular assistance on the territory of the Russian Federation, the ministry of foreign affairs recommends that Ukrainian citizens refrain from any travel to the Russian Federation, and those who are in this country immediately leave its territory.”
“We emphasise that ignoring their recommendations will significantly complicate ensuring proper protection of Ukrainian citizens in the Russian Federation,” the ministry statement noted.
