Russian military tanks and armored vehicles advance in Donetsk, Ukraine on February 24, 2022. (Photo by Stringer/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
President Vladimir Putin of Russia declared the start of a “special military operation” in Ukraine, pledging in a televised speech broadcast just before 6 a.m. Thursday that he would seek to demilitarize but not occupy the country.
Minutes after Putin announced that he was ordering his troops to war, large explosions were visible near Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city. Explosions were also reported in other Ukrainian cities, including the capital, Kyiv.
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