Powerful explosions were heard Thursday morning in Kiev, Odessa (south) and in eastern Ukraine after Vladimir Putin announced a military operation against the country, according to AFP journalists.
In the capital, at least two explosions were heard in the city center early in the morning, followed by the sound of ambulance sirens.
In the port city of Mariupol, the largest Ukrainian city near the front area with nearly half a million inhabitants, several people told AFP that they heard artillery shelling from the eastern district. from the city.
Closer to the front of the eastern conflict between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian forces for eight years, in Kramatorsk, a city which also serves as the headquarters of the Ukrainian army, at least four powerful explosions were also heard by journalists from the AFP.
600km away, in southern Ukraine, in the port city of Odessa, on the Black Sea, explosions also sounded.