Russian invasion of Ukraine: What is happening, where is under attack and what could be next?
Russia has launched a "full-scale invasion of Ukraine", the Ukrainian foreign minister has said.
© Associated Press A Russian Ka-52 helicopter gunship was forced to land outside Kyiv. Pic: APRussian President Vladimir Putin told his citizens he had begun a "specialised military operation" on Thursday morning and fighting is now going on in almost every part of the country.
The Ukrainian government said 137 civilians and military personnel had been killed by the end of the day.
An estimated 100,000 Ukrainians have fled their homes, the UN Refugee Agency said, with thousands crossing into neighbouring countries such as Romania, Moldova, Poland and Hungary.
© OtherWhere is military action taking place?
Conflict is reported in the following cities and areas:
© Other Russia has launched three main axes of assualtUkraine 'attacked from Russia, Belarus and Crimea' - latest live updates
US defence officials have said Russia has targeted Ukraine using three main axes of assault - one from the south in Crimea heading north to Kherson; a second from the north in Belarus going south to Kyiv and a third from the northeast moving south towards Kharkiv.
Kharkiv
In Kharkiv, in the northeast of the country, command centres have been hit by missiles, Ukrainian media reported.
© Associated Press Damaged radar arrays and other equipment are seen at Ukrainian military facility outside MariupolBritish expat Harry Lee, who is in the city, told Sky News he woke up to "five or six" bombs going off at around 5.15am and, at one point, the explosions caused his building to shake.
Shelling has also been reported across the city, with Ukraine's emergency service reporting a young boy had been killed when an apartment building came under fire.
An adviser to Ukraine's presidential office added that more than 40 Ukrainian soldiers were dead and dozens have been wounded.
Ukraine's military said it had destroyed four Russian tanks on a road near Kharkiv, where US officials believe the heaviest fighting has been taking place.
Chernobyl
© Getty Ukrainian firefighters try to extinguish a fire after an airstrike hit an apartment complex in ChuhuivPresident Vladimir Putin's forces have seized control of the former Chernobyl nuclear power plant near Pripyat, around 60 miles from the capital Kyiv, following fierce clashes with government forces, according to the Ukrainian prime minister Denys Shmyhal.
Explosions in Ukraine's second city
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A Ukrainian presidential adviser earlier said his country has lost control of the Chernobyl nuclear site to the Russians after a fierce battle.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the attack on the area around the former nuclear disaster zone was a "declaration of war against the whole of Europe".
Luhansk
In addition, it said it had killed 50 troops near a town in the Luhansk region and downed six Russian warplanes in the east of the country.
Russia has denied reports that its aircraft or armoured vehicles were destroyed and has claimed to have downed two Ukrainian planes and destroyed 74 Ukrainian military facilities, including 11 air bases.
The country's investigative committee has also claimed that three people have been injured by Ukrainian shells in the southern Belgorod region, near the border.
Ukrainian city airport is on fire
Watch and hear big Ukraine explosion
In Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, an explosion has been heard, with Sky News' Mark Austin reporting that smoke could be seen rising over buildings.
Ukrainian troops have recaptured an airfield in the north-west suburbs of Kyiv, a presidential adviser told the Reuters news agency on Thursday evening.
Russia helicopters circle Kyiv
Military command centres in several cities, including Kyiv, have been targeted by missile strikes, according to a Ukrainian interior ministry official.
Following the explosion, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the country was being hit by a "second wave" of missile strikes.
Read more: Ukraine in pictures - Explosions damage cities as people take shelter in subway stations
A UK Ministry of Defence intelligence update stated that Russia has "conducted an air assault" on an airfield on the outskirts of Kyiv, and strikes have been delivered through a combination of "ground, air and sea-launched missiles and by artillery bombardment."
Video appears to show missile strike
An adviser to President Zelenskyy said Hostomel, a military airport some 15 miles (22km) from the capital, has been captured by Russian forces, after officials earlier said 20 Russian helicopters and Mi-8 aircraft had landed paratroopers.
Video appears to show missile aftermath
Ukraine's internal ministry said it had downed three Russian helicopters - although it is not clear whether these are the same aircraft.
A Ukrainian armed forces' Antonov aircraft has also been shot down in Kyiv, according to the state emergency service.
Brovary and Trypilska
In Brovary, a town just outside the capital, at least six people have been reportedly killed by a series of missile strikes, local authorities have said.
Also not far from the main city, an explosion has occurred at the Trypilska power station, Ukraine's energy ministry reported.
Huge traffic jam as people flee Ukraine
Ivano-Frankivsk and Chuhuiv
In Ivano-Frankivsk, Sky News believes, after reviewing a video through an extensive verification process, a missile strike has taken place on a Ukrainian air base.
Putin announces 'military operation'
Sky News also understands, after reviewing, verifying and corroborating a video, that a missile has hit another Ukrainian air base in Chuhuiv.
Lviv and Crimea
Ukraine has said Russia has shelled the western Lviv region, some 35 miles (60km) from the border with Poland.
Ukraine's border guard agency said the Russian military attacked from neighbouring Belarus and that Russia has been moving military equipment from annexed Crimea into Ukraine.
Odessa, Sumy and Kherson
In the southern port city of Odessa, Russian troops have reportedly landed, with an adviser to Ukraine's presidential office saying fierce fighting is taking place.
'Russian troops could be in Kyiv soon'
Regional authorities said at least 18 people had been killed in a missile attack in the city.
A presidential adviser added that fighting was under way in Sumy and Kherson as well.
Local authorities in Kherson, which is in the south of country, have reported that parts of the region are no longer under Ukrainian control.
Mariupol
Russian soldiers have also reportedly arrived in Mariupol, where an AP photographer said explosions could be heard.
Pictures showed damaged radar arrays and other equipment at a Ukrainian military facility just outside the southeastern city.
Read more: Shocked civilians hide in fear but are defiant as explosions boom and Russian rockets rain down on the coastal city of Mariupol
Shchastia, Chernihiv and Donetsk
According to Interfax, Russian-backed separatists said they had launched an offensive on the Ukrainian-controlled town of Shchastia in the east.
In the Chernihiv region of northern Ukraine, an adviser to Mr Zelenskyy has said Russian forces are regrouping to continue their offensive.
Explosions are also said to have rocked the breakaway eastern city of Donetsk, with a local authority reporting four people were killed when Russian forces hit a hospital.
How did the invasion begin and what is Putin's aim?
In the early hours of Thursday morning, Russia's President Vladimir Putin delivered a state television address where he said he had ordered a "specialised military operation" in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region.
He claimed that Russia does not intend to occupy Ukraine but instead will move to "demilitarise" it.
Putin added that Russia was acting in self-defence and the use of Ukraine's territory by NATO was unacceptable.
Read more: Inside the mind of Putin - Why is he invading Ukraine and what does he want?
Shortly after his announcement, large explosions were heard in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odessa and other cities across Ukraine.
Sky News's Stuart Ramsay, who is in Kyiv, said he was woken up by loud explosions and air raid sirens were heard going off in the city.
Mr Zelenskyy then introduced martial law and urged people to stay at home.
What could happen next?
Western officials have warned that Russia intends to seize and control a large section of Ukraine, with Putin's forces using "precision military strikes, air strikes and ground manoeuvres" to cross into the country from multiple directions.
They added that it was unclear whether taking control of the whole country was Russia's immediate objective.
However, they claim an initial assessment suggests the way Russian forces were moving could indicate Kyiv, Odessa, Mariupol and separatist areas may all be the targets.
Former UK armed forces commander General Sir Richard Barrons believes Russian troops could take Kyiv by tonight or tomorrow morning.
"The distances there (to Kyiv), depending on the route followed, are somewhere between 150 and 200 miles, so if there isn't an effective opposition, Russian troops will be in Kyiv tonight or tomorrow," he told Sky News.
He added that connections from Ukrainian headquarters to troops in the field are likely to have been disrupted and they now face a "very difficult choice".
"If they stand in the way of very powerful Russian forces they are likely to be quite swiftly destroyed," Sir Richard said.
"If they stand aside and aim to attack them from the flanks, Russian forces will continue to move towards Kyiv."
US officials believe there will be multiple phases of the Russian operation. They estimate that more than 100 Russian missiles, of various sizes and ranges, were fired in the initial attack.
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