“Russia was left no chance to protect itself by other means… I have decided to conduct a special military operation,” Putin claimed.

He added the responsibility for bloodshed rested with the Ukrainian “regime”.

In the statement carried by the Russian Interfax and TASS newsagencies and broadcast on state-run television, Putin claimed Russia could not “tolerate threats coming from Ukraine” and added “we do not plan to occupy Ukrainian territory”.

He added that “in case of foreign interference, Russia will react immediately”.

It happened just as the United States ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, told the Security Council that “We believe, along with Ukraine, that a full-scale further invasion into Ukraine is imminent”.

The council was meeting to discuss Ukraine, diplomats said, after separatists in eastern Ukraine asked for Russia for help to repel “aggression”.

“At the exact time as we are gathered in the council seeking peace, Putin delivered a message of war, in total disdain for the responsibility of this council,” US ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said. She added that a draft resolution would be circulated to the council later.

It would declare that Russia is violating the UN Charter, international law and a 2015 council resolution on Ukraine, a European diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the discussions were private. The resolution would urge Russia to come back into compliance immediately, the diplomat said.

“Putin has just launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Peaceful Ukrainian cities are under strikes. This is a war of aggression. Ukraine will defend itself and will win. The world can and must stop Putin. The time to act is now,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on Twitter.

‘This is a war of aggression. Ukraine will defend itself and will win.’

Dmytro Kuleba, Ukrainian Foreign Minister

CNN’s senior international correspondent Matthew Chance was reporting live from the ground when he reported hearing about five explosions.

“There are big explosions taking place in Kyiv right now. I can’t see where they are taking place from this vantage point here on top of the roof of the hotel in central Kyiv.”

The BBC’s Eastern Europe correspondent Sarah Rainsford also reported hearing a “big bang” in Kramatorsk, the administrative centre of northern Donetsk.

US President Joe Biden released a statement shortly after saying, “The prayers of the entire world are with the people of Ukraine tonight as they suffer an unprovoked and unjustified attack by Russian military forces.

“President Putin has chosen a premeditated war that will bring a catastrophic loss of life and human suffering,” Biden said.

“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.

“I will be monitoring the situation from the White House this evening and will continue to get regular updates from my national security team.”

Earlier UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told Putin to not send Russian troops against Ukraine and “give peace a chance”.

Before Putin’s announcement, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the rebel chiefs had written to the President to tell him that shelling by the Ukrainian military had caused civilian deaths and forced many people to flee.

There have been no independent reports of Ukraine forces shelling Russian targets. There was one unconfirmed report of rockets hitting near Mariupol.

Putin has recognised the independence of the Russia-backed rebel regions of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine and signed friendship treaties with them. On Tuesday, received parliament’s permission to use military forces outside the country.

Hours after the separatists wrote to the Kremlin, the Ukrainian President rejected Moscow’s claims that his country posed a threat to Russia and warned that a Russian invasion would cost tens of thousands of lives.

“The people of Ukraine and the government of Ukraine want peace,” Zelensky said in an emotional overnight address to his nation in Russian.

“But if we come under attack, if we face an attempt to take away our country, our freedom, our lives and lives of our children, we will defend ourselves. When you attack us, you will see our faces, not our backs.”

Zelensky said he asked to arrange a call with Putin late on Wednesday, but the Kremlin didn’t respond.

In an apparent reference to Putin’s move to sanction the deployment of the Russian military to “maintain peace” in eastern Ukraine, Zelensky warned that “this step could mark the start of a big war on the European continent”.

“Any provocation, any spark could trigger a blaze that will destroy everything,” he said.

He challenged the Russian propaganda claims, saying that “you are told that this blaze will bring freedom to the people of Ukraine, but the Ukrainian people are free”.

‘Before the night was over’

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told NBC News on Thursday morning AEDT that he expected Russia to invade Ukraine before the night was over but still saw a chance to “avert a major aggression”.

“Everything seems to be in place for Russia to engage in a major aggression against Ukraine,” Blinken told NBC in an interview, adding he could not be precise about time or place.

Earlier, Biden said his administration would impose sanctions on Nord Stream 2 AG, the company in charge of building Russia’s controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to Germany.

The announcement was an escalation of US measures against Russia over the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine.

The gas pipeline is seen as a key tool of influence that Russia holds over Europe. It has also been the subject of debate between the US and Germany. The US has opposed the pipeline supplying gas that Germany requires for its economy.

“Today, I have directed my administration to impose sanctions on Nord Stream 2 AG and its corporate officers,” Biden said in a statement.

Ukraine declared a state of emergency on Wednesday and told its citizens in Russia to flee.

Airports at Dnipro, Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia in Ukraine were closed to traffic until Thursday morning, according to notices to airmen issued by local authorities. No reason was provided for the closures.

Shelling intensified at the line of contact in eastern Ukraine, where Putin recognised the independence of the two Moscow-backed rebel regions this week and ordered the deployment of Russian troops as “peacekeepers”.

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Cyber attack

Ukrainian government and state websites, which have experienced outages in recent weeks, were again offline on Wednesday. Ukraine’s parliament, cabinet and Foreign Ministry websites were affected.

Moscow had denied planning an invasion and repeatedly described warnings as anti-Russian hysteria. On Wednesday, it took down flags from its embassy in Kyiv, having ordered its diplomats to evacuate for safety reasons.

Sanctions

Washington has described Russia’s actions as the start of an “invasion”, but along with allies has so far unveiled mostly incremental sanctions, while making clear they were keeping tougher measures in reserve in case of a full-scale invasion.

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European Union sanctions approved on Wednesday will add all members of Russia’s lower house of parliament who voted to recognise the separatist regions in Ukraine to a blacklist, freezing their assets and banning travel.

Britain announced new restrictions banning Russia from the issuing of new bonds in its security markets, and called for its broadcasting regulator to investigate Russia’s RT international television news channel as a propaganda outlet.

Fresh troops deployed

Earlier on Thursday, Ukraine’s military said one soldier had been killed and six wounded in increased shelling by pro-Russian separatists using heavy artillery, mortar bombs and Grad rocket systems in the two breakaway areas over the previous 24 hours.

New satellite imagery showed several fresh troop and equipment deployments in western Russia and more than 100 vehicles at a small airfield in southern Belarus, which borders Ukraine, according to US satellite firm Maxar.