Russian forces broke into Kyiv; 18 killed

Russian forces have broken through on Thursday into the north of the Kyiv region, Ukrainian border guards said, while staging an attack with Grad missiles on government positions.

According to witnesses, “They have seen several low flying helicopters flying towards the city, amid reports that an airfield was under an attack.”

The Odessa regional administration said in a statement that, “Eighteen people have died, including eight men and ten women. At the moment, we are still digging through the rubble.”

The attack came on the first day of an invasion of Ukraine that President Vladimir Putin launched after sparring for weeks with the West about NATO’s presence in the eastern region in Europe.

As per the Ukrainian officials, it was the deadliest single strike so far of the day, which had earlier put the death count across the country at around 50, including ten civilians.

The attack struck a military base about 100 kilometres (62 miles) north of Odessa, in a region near Ukraine’s border with Moldova.