Security camera footage shows Russian tankscrossing into Ukraine from Russian-annexed Crimea as the country comes under attack in a "full-scale" invasion.
Russian president Vladimir Putin ordered his military into the wider part of Ukraine overnight – despite weeks of denials that he would do so – with his forces entering the country from Russia, Belarus and Crimea, part of Ukraine already seized by Russia.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba says Russia has launched a "full-scale" attack with troops crossing the border on several fronts.
The tank footage, which is said to have been filmed at Senkivka, was shown on CNN and then went viral on Twitter.
Senkivka is at the border where Ukraine, Belarus and Russia meet, and is a long way from the regions of Ukraine that Putin originally said he was helping to defend.
It also highlights the involvement of Belarus – one of Putin’s few allies in the region – in Putin’s operations.
The world has been on tenterhooks for the past few weeks with Western intelligence warning that an invasion by Putin was imminent.
Russia had publicly scoffed at that claim, but this morning’s actions appear to have vindicated those warnings.
Earlier this week Putin invaded the Ukrainian regions of Donbask and Luhansk, claiming the separatist regions had asked for help, but the latest developments signify an all-out invasion of Ukraine.
One of the responses on Twitter to the video of tanks at Senkivka says: “That’s nowhere near Donbas and Luhansk. That’s only a short drive to Kiev. Looks like Putin wants a regime change in Ukraine.”
Another simply says: “New evil axis: China, Russia, Belarus, Iran”, while another states: “Sanctions against Belarus need to be implemented immediately”.
Explosions and air-raid sirens have been heard in cities including Kiev after Putin declared a “special military operation” overnight.
For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletter by clicking here.
Unofficial Russian sources say cruise missiles and ballistic missiles are destroying military infrastructure and other important facilities, while Russian troops appear to have landed on Ukraine’s southern coast.
In a chilling address made as his forces rolled across the border, Putin warned other countries from stepping in to help Ukraine, telling them they faced seeing “consequences they have never seen”.
He said the action was to be "demilitarised and de-nazified" as a result of his immediate military action, and accused Western powers of "crossing a red line" by building up a Nato presence in the region.
Source: Read Full Article