into russian president vladimir putin, military operation on ukraine. he's told ukrainian troops to lay down their arms, his military. so ukraine's air defenses and basis have been destroyed. tanks have also been seen coming across the border from valerie sh. ukraine says this is a full scale invasion and its air force. it has shot down several russian aircraft in the east. now explosions have been heard in multiple cities as well, including key of the capital. the european union says it will impose what it cause massive and severe sanctions against russia. german chancellor is calling it a dark day for europe. let's hear some of the televised address now that the russian president vladimir putin made, as he announced the military action and told ukrainian forces to retreat. please away with mimi than the ones we get older. we you to lay down immediately and go home. i will explain all service men of the ukrainian army who comply with this

requirement can freely leave the area of military actions and return to the families. but when you put the waiver would try to stop us and food, the creat threats to our country, to our people should know that russia's response will be immediate and lead you to such consequences that you have never faced in your history. we are ready for any outcome of the ukrainian president water damage zaleski has posted a video online saying he's now declared martial law from a journal grains when you were active dear ukrainians. this morning president putin announced a special military operation in dumbass. russia carried out strikes and military infrastructure on a board of gods. explosions were heard in many cities of ukraine. we introduce martial law throughout the state. i had a conversation with us president joe biden, the us starting together international support and today we need you each of you to be calm. if possible, stay at home please. we are working,

the army is working. the tie, security in defense sector of ukraine is working on a claim. foreign minister dmitri labor twisted out this statement hootin has just launched a full scale invasion of ukraine. peaceful ukrainian cities are on the strike. so this is a war of aggression and he says ukraine will defend itself and will win the world can and must stop putin. the time to act is now what up the hamid is life force in crime, a torso in east in ukraine. a honda bring us up to speed at the sound, what you've been seeing and hearing there right now that i have to say, i mean with old is going on and all the news that has been unfolding this isn't a great fence of fanning among people. i've been observing that for the past few

hours, if not, that is an indication of worry is that there's ever longer hughes at the cache dispenser machines and at the pachel stations. so people are definitely as talking up now here in grammar tours since those loud exposed explosions free. don't that we think we're hitting a military base just on the edge of this city. we haven't heard anything since they were a few ukrainian jets flying quite low over the city. but that was a couple of hours ago. now. at the moment in easton, you great. the cities and towns are wide calm and certainly they are less targeted or the military as is around them are less targeted for now. by that's probably because the final aim of all of this is obviously affordable. russian back separate is to expand the territory to take all of the don't yes,

and look as regions. so this is an area where both russia and the separate is, would not like to al unique people whether they know to have a lot of support. but if there is damage, if there's destruction, if there are casualties, then they could lose. some of that support. people are an edge. people are worried, especially because there's a lot of divisions among them. and these, the big had come to the surface in the past. and had forced for many people to leave 1500000 have already left the dome region. over the past 8 years. you have a lot of people here who have families on the separate decide. so is all is a very complicated situation in this part of the country when it comes to civilians and the relations between their civilians are a lot of mistrust. a lot of and if that all of that explodes, been you good?

see the civilian unrest on the streets and ham. this is a something that is clearly escalated now from the not just a low level conflict in easton ukraine, but it's an expanded well beyond where you are. what is the biggest fear that people have there right now as, as this a continues to, to escalate throughout the country? or? well, certainly the idea of a full invasion has been up there in the air. and when people have been following new news, what's very interesting is that just a few weeks ago or as we were traveling around this area, many people are brushing off the idea that they would be an invasion in the 1st place when am in an escalation, in the military conflict and then that started changing dramatically over the past

week. even the soldiers of the front line just a few weeks ago were telling us they didn't really believe of that. well, just a couple of days ago, we were one of these frontline positions and the soldiers there said it is a very dangerous situation is becoming more and more dangerous. one of them told us that they needed back up. they needed more people. a troops deployed to their positions because they knew about the territorial ambitions of a russian back separatist. and they said we are standing in their way. this long demarcation line is basically going to be overrun once they decide to have their push. and they were worried that at that stage they didn't have enough a back up for that. now with the military acids being hit in and around at this region. and further do it were in the western new cray that makes their position on

their frontline, even more difficult, especially that front of them. they have the separatist and at the back of them in those cities and towns and villages that border, the frontline, they don't have full support of the civilian. in some areas they could have 50 percent of support. and so the other areas, there are 2 places that are overwhelmingly bro, russian. so it's a very difficult situation for these ukrainian or soldiers who are there at the forefront of the battle. if indeed at the moment we are here, we are having airstrikes. but when that turns into a ground offensive, well, they are certainly in a very delicate position because they do not have that full civilian support that they do need in case they have to retreat. all right, hold on to jaime life. first in karma tor sky in east in ukraine. fernand, thanks very much harder. stay safe. let's go live now a to my. are you paula? a few miles south in south easton ukraine where charles strafford is

a lie for sir charles. tell us was having that well as in we've moved to the outskirts of my real po, since we last spoke a week or so ago. as you can see, there are a lot less calls on the streets in this area. we're actually heading towards an area of the city that is supposed to be northeast. from here it is close to the front line village is of places like shock, you know where some of the most intense shelly and fighting has been in the last few days of areas that we have visited in the last few days as well as you can see a lot less people we have in the last of the 1015 minutes, long lines of vehicles that have been clearing up gas stations. increasingly

long lines of people killing up at a t. m the atmosphere is still relaxed, relatively calm. we have heard in the last few minutes what we think some loud booms were unsure because in the area that we were was a lot of heavy trucks moving around. so it's difficult to confirm that. but there are increasing reports that, of course we cannot confirm. royces is saying that according to a witness, that voice is spoken to are here submitted to be. it was just going fast on the left. all right. in a past we've lost a child for the mom and their apologies for that, so i understand we may still have them back. let's try to go back to channels. can you hear me charles? yes, and can you hear me now? yeah, yeah, i'm sure now. yeah, it's good. yeah, that's good. okay. so yeah,

it doesn't surprise you. i think that the feeling is is that the further out of the city you go towards the front line, the worst comes potentially gets. but as i was saying, there's this a witness to the spoken to the reuters news agency saying that he or she has seen a column of ukrainian tanks, ukrainian military vehicles, heading towards mariel as i say, we cannot in any way confirm that. but as i say, let's move up a little bit, see if we can get you a bit closer. the streets, definitely a comma here. we're also getting reports that we cannot verify. certainly the russian media russian use organization is reporting that russia has hate the headquarters of a very important powerful our group will be as off battalion now. the agile battalion were very effective in defending mary opal in 2014 and fighting the

separatists back basically kicking the separatists out of the city. and they've subsequently been incorporated into into the ukrainian security services and operate under the ministry of interior. we're trying to make some calls to the as of battalions of as to whether that would be the case. but that is consistent with certainly the reports coming out of out of russia that they are concentrating on military installations in ukraine and trying to avoid civilian civilian infrastructure. so yes, the big concern though is if there isn't, if there is a big push into mariel is obviously a highly populated city. and any, any push by any kind of ground invasion, you know, it is very well defended. there will be huge potential civilian casualties here. i think i reported earlier, but just to reiterate that we've also spoke with his all their queueing up,

i believe, for a bank we were speaking to somebody who has been traveling through a village north of called a cave, a village on the ukrainian washing border that we visited last week and i see no fighting and i use this conflict. but 1st we spoke to jump through that village said that the village was effectively flattened. now we can't confirm that, but we have been trying to reach out the people who we met and took the numbers off living in that village. and they're not picking up. there's a military happy lives, as you can see on the left. so we are approaching a check point. suppose it's about 3 kilometers further up this road. the 1st, the number of check points that will take you into the frontline positions. and we fully expect to, once we've spoken to some people here, we can get at cooper. but we fully expect to hear that shelling would have been the heaviest in this area, certainly has been in the run up to this and out. so by the russians of this,

of this operation. the feeling on the street to the side of the atmosphere is, is, is his. com still, but there is increasing evidence of people getting ready to move as indicated by those cues of cause filling up gas at petrol stations. and i should say now that the streets are getting increasingly quite positive, but he did give, give us and give us a sense charles of just how important mary paul is strategically in this, in this whole map of, of, of east and, and southeast in ukraine. because it is in that car, door of territory, isn't it? between crimea which, which russia controls and those separate just republics come to the east, which yeah. russia has is the independence they have, they have recognized now. so is it, it's strategically quite important, isn't it?

that's right. hm. yes, i mean analysts any military and this will tell you exactly that. the reason why it is strategically a one, it is obviously a whole city on the as of c. but many, many, many analysts will say, i'll just ask the driver to stop here because there is a check point not too far. i think the credit military would be perfectly clean on this building this, but yeah, memorial plan is important because there is a theory that, that says that any kind of push by russia rushing back policies coming out of the east, coming out of the dumbass region, could well, head south in order to be able to join up with potentially russian forces coming out of northern crimea to create a corridor. and that would include murray or pull cord or between crimea. and that eastern section of don bass would create a corridor that would take him to mario take, take, include,

include mariel. and the reason why only saying that that would be important is because russia has suffered recent years, certainly on the crimea peninsula of lack of a lack of water in 20142015. the ukrainians blocked around what's estimated to be about 85 percent of the water resources on the mainland going into crimea. the russians have tried to deal with that by building wells on the peninsula. they connected it to russia, mainland with, with a bridge over coach straight. but yes, there is a feeling that there could be a kind of pin. so movement if you like, one going up north from crimea and turning east to join up with any kind of movement coming down from the east south. also i should mention and again, reports that we cannot confirm the important naval city of better dance, which is outside of the do nets. region of all these to new

grain is about a 100 kilometers west of mary. awful. again, a naval city. we were so live today by naval contacts of ours said that they were coming on the oh, certainly air is a round berry dance were being shelled as well. which germ, of course, would suggest yet again, a potential move by russian forces to take over far more territory than nerves, than the dawn bash than the dawn bus region. and move up to life mostly in mary jo for many thanks for our bring us up to speed on the situation. they're stay safe. we will hope to come back to you again. of course, at some point for the only child, thanks very much. now we're going to show you some pictures of where the are even of forensic airports are about 400 kilometers. this is key of we are being told it is one of the is the latest pictures of some of the damage

that this conflict has as a rule. their ground level pictures, a key of their latest pictures that we are getting from that give you a sense of what's happening or not. now these are pictures of the if enough, francis airports, 400 kilometers south of kiev being told who is one of the most advanced airports in ukraine, and you see large plumes of black smoke coming out there. so obviously it looks to be some extensive damage. at that point we will bring up to date on, on some of that. so when we can, let's go to moscow now live to dorsey jibari who's standing by in the russian capital force. so dos many rushes. now, waking up to this news, this conflict has expanded x quite expensively now beyond just eastern ukraine. what is,

what is the reception that russians giving to this right now? well, i think there's still very much in shock here. i'm. i've been here now for the past 3 hours and when i left my hotel earlier this morning was shortly after that an announcement was made by the russian president vladimir putin, that he was going to launch a military operation in don't boss. and on my way into the bureau, i asked my taxi driver if he had heard of the news, and this is what i told them would have happened. and he simply didn't believe me. he thought i was joking with him. and i think the general sense here now as people more more people get on with their day is really, this is something they never thought would actually happen. we, i've heard that these are russians. stock exchange has now been closed as a result of the volatility in the markets at the a russian officials have also announced that to add, they have to temporarily suspended flights to

a number of cities and airports until the early hours of march 2nd. and we also know that all the foreign currency exchange places in the city, there is one just across the road from where we are now. it's still close. they haven't opened yet, and i don't know if they were later on today. there is a sense of really very much disbelief. i think i also spoke to one other person with an employee in this of the office and building and. c she has relatives in kia her mother lives in ki, of and she simply didn't believe me. i'm walked away when i told her of the news. i think that gives you a sense of what the general feeling here is. an ide covered and remembrance day ceremony yesterday in front of the tomb of the unknown soldiers by the kremlin wall and, and many people i asked there and if this was something they thought would ever happen an attack on ukraine and they thought it, they simply dismiss the ideas preposterous. they said there was no reason for

russia to invade ukraine. there is no reason to justify sending russian troops on to ukrainian soil or attacking them by sea or error, anything like that. i think there is a really still very much a sense of shock here data and we heard from the russian president a little bit earlier on the top of the we played a clip of the speech that he gave earlier this morning in which he said he's a lot of very fiery language saying things like anyone who tries to respond to us will face such consequences as you've never faced in your history. have we heard anything new either from the, the russian president or any other russian official since then? no, we are expecting the foreign ministry to have their daily briefing in the coming hours and we will of course, get their version of events that have unfolded since we also are expecting the

russian president vladimir putin to meet with his pakistani counterpart, the prime minister pakistan arrived in moscow late last night and mom calling as he was getting off the plane and coming into the airport. he said, such exciting times here. clearly understand the situation he was walking into. so we are waiting to find out whether or not that meeting. we'll still go ahead between the 2 leaders and whether or not let me put will address the media. following that, i think we're going to get, we're getting some lines from the defense of history about the reports of fighter jets that have been shut down by the ukrainian military over the past hour or so. and the russian defense ministry is denied. those report saying that that is no russian jets have been shut down by the ukrainian military. the aim clearly hear from what we understand from the president and various analysts i've spoken to is that they are launching an air offensive to try and disable. they read

ukrainian military and the cranium army. and according to the defense ministry here, the air defense systems of the armed forces of ukraine have now been neutralized according to the russian. i think a lot of people now are waiting to find out whether or not russian troops will be on the grounds in ukraine. i think that is a huge that would be a huge development if and when it were to happen. a lot of people think that could really change the whole narrative that we heard from the russian officials about a military operation in dumbass to then extend it to russian boots on the ground in ukraine. i think it could be very much what would really change things in the russian capital. we also understand that the bell, a russian president, alexander lucas shackle has called an emergency meeting with his military officials . and that's due to take place in the next hour. of course, bella ruth was hosting and about $30000.00 russian troops because they were

carrying out joy, military drills from february 10th until the 20th. and of course, when the time came for those troops and military equipment to come back to russia, they bella, russian president announced that they were to stay because they were discussing further security issues with the russian president, vladimir. and now we understand that possibly the motive was what has taken place this morning. also thanks so much dosage a bar a live 1st there in moscow, i think we're going to stay in moscow now and speak to vladimir suddenly. coffee is a russian foreign affairs analyst joining us from the russian capital. thank you very much for being with us. i want to ask you, 1st of all, what is your assessment of what you're seeing in ukraine? what you have seen over the last few hours is this a bigger operation than you had anticipated or expected?

oh actual i think this is not a big operation. and i think that these operations, special operation was that was. busy done by russia, i will be limited to only to use them republics independent republic, bomb boss on guns. and there will there as a, i think there will be no any move to watch or the capital you frame. and the also are, there will be just, there are some shotuko strikes against the nazis and terrorist organizations which are actually present, which are destroying or trying to destroy the right people offer. i don't that scandal guns sold. this is a shot operation, ultimately saying, and i think that it will assume close off when you say that you refer to the ukranian ukrainian governments as, as terrorist organizations. is that not a little extreme?

oh no i i'm not saying that the ukrainian government visitors i was saying about the are some are generated on some of these are which i. 5 actually eat with, did he great, did you say nazis? you referred to them as nazis or not. wow, nonsense yarbrough glasses. yeah. okay. well what, what evidence is there that again, this is, this is a lot of an aggressive language that you're using here. i'm not using aggressive language, i'm just saying that's wasa. naturally. evidence of from the point of view or look, ah, ah, there was a situation after our crimea crisis 8 years ago. and there was there shoving over people and killing all the people in odessa and other cbs. so who actually? well, those are those last 4. well, those guys who are killing good people, so these are randasia groups. so actually, as i'm saying that these are short operation is undertaking against the,

against those groups, not against your gradient. people, right? you say that this is not against ukrainian people and this is just a limited to operation. but this has gone far beyond all the reports. we're getting a say this has gone far beyond eastern ukraine. there, there are reports of some showings and attacks in ukraine. i in matter you poll in other areas of the country, does this, this seems to the rest of the world like a disproportionate response from russia. i'm at what, what do you say to that? well, actually i think that the 1st of all we shoot a recall just recently, russia suggested resuming b. r means for monitor negotiations. russia. so just that actually that i ukrainian forces. so shoot quits with chalet and bombing the best

people a peaceful people in finance. there was no, any response from you, daniel, got him. so i think that was justified. that's russia actually, according to the article, 51 of the you in toronto on the, to this operation. what do you see as a hooton's end game here? so again, please, i'm just asking what, what is, what is the ultimate objective president putin here, is he trying to is trying, is he trying to force regime change in ukraine? is he just taking out specific targets? what, what is his end goal in all of this? well, actually, i can only speculate about this. i don't know what the president with a but i to them to my best guess is that they're like just reading the situation to subtract lecture to,

to get down to, to down with the forces which are not hostile to russia. all right, we will leave it there for now. good to get your thoughts on this. appreciate your, your time, mr. sun. nicole. i'm all right. well, reaction now british foreign secretary lives truss has tweeted on this. i strongly condemn the appalling unprovoked attack president putin has launched on the people of ukraine. she says she goes on to say, we stand with ukraine and we will work with our international partners to respond to the terrible act of aggression. let's look back now at the long run in conflict in east, in ukraine, in 2014 separatists had carved out territory highlighted in yellow here from ukraine than yes and new concept provinces. they declared their own people's republics, which are recognised only by themselves. and now russia,

over all about 2000000 people live in done yes, province, and one and a half 1000000 in the country. many especially in the rebel controlled areas have obtained russia, passports, of both provinces, industrial, hobbes, dominated by mining with vos, colors, as an important asset. for all sides, it is estimated, at least 14000 people have been killed in fighting for control of the regions in the past 8 years. us president joe biden has released a statement on what he is called russia's unprovoked, an unjustified attack on ukraine. he said, president putin has chosen a premeditated wall that will bring a catastrophic loss of life and human suffering. russia alone is responsible for the death and destruction this attack will bring, and the united states and its allies and partners will respond in a united and decisive way the world will hold russia accountable. let's go live now

to heidi ho castro, who is in washington for so id bring this up to speed. now on what the reaction, the latest reaction has been there in washing to washington to this any, any further reaction we had that sure. a strong words, as you just said, from the president of the united states, to russia's aggression. but just how will the world hold russia accountable as fight and has val, will, that remains to be seen the will get more information at noon time here in washington. that is when president biden is expected to make another address to americans in which he will announce the severest sanctions against russia. what will they entail? we still have few details. of course, we know the 1st traunches sanctions targeted russian banks, the sovereign debt and also the company building the north stream to pipeline. so.