Ukraine’s President says 137 dead after the first day of fighting

President Volodymyr Zelensky said 137 Ukrainians died Thursday after his country came under a large-scale attack from Russian forces.

“Today we have lost 137 of our heroes, our citizens. Military and civilian,” Zelensky said in a video address, adding that another 316 people had been injured. 

Russia has invaded Ukraine with an all-out attack from north, south and east taking place simultaneously, with missiles and bombs striking targets, including military bases, airports and ammo dumps. 

Armoured tanks and troops have rolled across the border from Belarus as Russian paratroopers landed in the east of Ukraine where rebel forces are also pushing out from the occupied Donbass region.

This is even as residents of Kyiv continue to troupe out of the city in their thousands to safety as explosions rock parts of the Ukrainian capital.

Less than a day into the invasion, military and civilian casualties have been reported as the United Nations and NATO continue to watch and ponder over possible sanctions and other possible actions against Russia and President Vladimir Putin. 

In the eastern Ukraine town of Chuguiv and Kharkiv on February 24, 2022, as Russian armed forces are trying to invade Ukraine from several directions, using rocket systems and helicopters to attack Ukrainian position in the south, the border guard service said.

Russia’s ground forces on Thursday crossed into Ukraine from several directions, Ukraine’s border guard service said, hours after President Vladimir Putin announced the launch of a major offensive. Russian tanks and other heavy equipment crossed the frontier in several northern regions, as well as from the Kremlin-annexed peninsula of Crimea in the south, the agency said.?