In case you haven’t been following the news, Russia has waged a war against Ukraine. The Russian President, Vladimir Putin, announced a “military operation” in Ukraine at a television speech, following which reports of blasts in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv surfaced on the news. However, the blasts are not just restrained to Kyiv but parts of eastern and southern Ukraine were also under attack, reports BBC.
Video on Thursday showed burning apartment buildings near Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city. The footage is evidence of a possible attack on civilian infrastructure.https://t.co/RuuvTtW1TI pic.twitter.com/pSBq6hNnGj
— The New York Times (@nytimes) February 24, 2022
Putin announced that the attack on their neighbouring country was to “demilitarise” and “de-Nazify” them and that Russia did not wish to occupy Ukraine. He also added that any intervention from “outside powers” to resist the Russian attack would be met with an “instant” and “devastating” response.
Russian tanks and troops have already entered through its eastern, southern and northern borders. And Ukraine is fighting back – having reportedly shot 5 Russian planes and a helicopter. Due to the multiple airstrikes that the Russian forces have inflicted on Ukraine, more than 137 civilians have lost their lives and 316 have been wounded, reports Al Jazeera.
Major explosion after a Russian attack on a Ukrainian weapons depot in the city of Vinnytsia in Western Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/46kxpfxie0
— Visegrád 24 🇨🇿🇭🇺🇵🇱🇸🇰 (@visegrad24) February 24, 2022
The evacuation of civilians is still ongoing. Visuals of the traffic-inflicted roads as people try to flee, lovers and families saying goodbye to each other flooded social media. There are videos of fathers bidding goodbye to their daughters that surfaced online which show how war tears loved ones apart, that common people are the ones to pay the price.
Father saying goodbye to his daughter as he puts her on a bus to safety and he stays behind to fight for Ukraine #StandWithUkraine pic.twitter.com/MBRc2fH59j
— Wu-Tang Is For The Children (@WUTangKids) February 24, 2022
A father says goodbye to his daughter during the evacuation of Donetsk in #Donbas, not knowing if he will see her again.
The men are recruited and separated from their families. pic.twitter.com/q3k19AJjOO
— Indian Military News (@indmilitarynews) February 25, 2022
A couple kiss goodbye before the woman boards a bus out of Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. Russia launched a wide-ranging attack on Ukraine on Thursday, hitting cities and bases with airstrikes or shelling, as civilians piled into trains and cars to flee. pic.twitter.com/dXpwLiiC2u
— Emilio Morenatti (@EmilioMorenatti) February 24, 2022
Last Goodbye 💔#Ukraine #UkraineRussiaCrisis pic.twitter.com/tNphpluJWR
— Cyclist umar Rashid (@Cyclistumar) February 24, 2022
goodbye moments. 💔
Ukraine pic.twitter.com/ozXtQHTikE— Mahmoud Gad | محمود جاد ™ (@mohmoued_Ahmed) February 24, 2022
A woman says goodbye to her father through a bus window during the evacuation of local residents to Russia, in the rebel-controlled city of Donetsk, Ukraine February 19, 2022. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko pic.twitter.com/fDsFS7IxdN
— Idrees Ali (@idreesali114) February 19, 2022
Goodbye moments in Ukraine💔
Men 18-60 are not allowed to leave the country, as they have all been drafted into military service.This war is bloody real friends.Hug those close to you today . 😞#Ukraine #UkraineInvasion #UkraineRussia pic.twitter.com/nAeb1kLEkC
— ᒶᐡ𝐝♏İし𝑎 💫 (@ludmidench) February 25, 2022
Mothers and children wave goodbye to loved ones they are forced to leave behind as they flee Ukraine https://t.co/LDrtTPkm06 pic.twitter.com/dVqolfIC2L
— Dear sly, (@Sly023) February 24, 2022
Fathers in #Donbass saying goodbye to their kids as they leave to fight against the impending invasion by #Ukraine 💔💔
Children and elderly are being evacuated from #Donbass in anticipation of the #Ukrainian invasion.
Nobody is talking about the tragedy in #Donbass… pic.twitter.com/aXICT5i4Ic
— The Indic Renaissance (@indic_the) February 20, 2022
A closer look at what war really looks like, no winners, just people torn apart, broken families with a lot of goodbyes to a life forever changed.#FromSyria_we_support_Ukraine_against_Russia pic.twitter.com/Bh9BHDL5aC
— Ahmed Taher (@taher10111987) February 24, 2022
Several Russian citizens took to the streets in Saint Petersburg to protest against the war.
People attend an anti-war protest in Saint Petersburg, Russia, amid Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
LIVE UPDATES: https://t.co/PNhwQYEBQE pic.twitter.com/bVgX7fcefp
— ABC News (@ABC) February 24, 2022
It’s not Russian-Ukrainian conflict. It’s Putin-Ukrainian conflict.#Putin #Ukraine #Russia #NATO #UkraineInvasion pic.twitter.com/OIB2z6vKIi
— bia 🙂 (@imbeatrizaguiar) February 25, 2022
The protests took place in Moscow too where thousands of people were willing to face the repercussions of standing against Putin.
A view of the protest in central Moscow this evening. Thousands across the country are risking serious repercussions to protest Putin’s attack on Ukraine. More than 850 people detained so far. pic.twitter.com/KHog0Acbir
— Matthew Luxmoore (@mjluxmoore) February 24, 2022
Hundreds of citizens of Kyiv used the subway as a bomb shelter due to the continued airstrikes.
People rest in the Kyiv subway, using it as a bomb shelter Feb. 24, 2022. Russia has launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, unleashing airstrikes and sending troops and tanks from multiple directions in a move that could rewrite the world's geopolitical landscape. pic.twitter.com/IFR5VPajLF
— Emilio Morenatti (@EmilioMorenatti) February 24, 2022
When there is war, even when you win, you lose. Our hearts go out to the people of Ukraine.