Situation under control, Ukraine’s defense minister says

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov has said the national army is “holding defense” and “fending off Russian troops,” hours after Moscow announced a military operation against Ukraine. “Our troops are doing everything to protect you and not allow the aggressor to break through,” he said on Thursday in a statement.

He called on Ukrainian citizens to remain calm and preferably stay at home, reiterating the earlier advice of President Volodymyr Zelensky.“The situation is under control, but our army needs your support more than ever,” Reznikov said, adding that the best form of support was trusting the national armed forces.

Earlier in the day, President Vladimir Putin announced that he had ordered the Russian military to launch a special military operation in Ukraine. He said the goal was to “demilitarize” and “de-Nazify” the neighboring country, which, he stated, would otherwise pose a threat to its breakaway regions of Donetsk and Lugansk, and to Russia.

The Russian military later said it was conducting precision strikes on elements of Ukrainian military infrastructure throughout the country. It said Ukrainian civilians were not being targeted by the strikes.

Zelensky has declared martial law in Ukraine.