Russia attacks Ukraine

By Jessie Yeung, Adam Renton, Rob Picheta, Ed Upright, Aditi Sangal, Adrienne Vogt, Melissa Macaya and Maureen Chowdhury, CNN

Updated 9:58 a.m. ET, February 24, 2022
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10:16 p.m. ET, February 23, 2022

Putin tells Ukrainian forces to lay down arms and go home

From CNN's Nathan Hodge in Moscow

In an address early Thursday on national television, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced military action in Donbas, urging Ukrainian forces to lay down their arms and go home, according to state-run news agencies RIA-Novosti and TASS.

Putin warned that all responsibility for any potential bloodshed will be on the conscience of the Ukrainian government, and said he was confident Russian service members will fulfill their duty.

10:30 p.m. ET, February 23, 2022

CNN team reports explosions near Ukrainian capital

The CNN team on the ground is hearing several loud explosions near Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine.

Watch Matthew Chance reporting:

10:08 p.m. ET, February 23, 2022

Aviation authorities restrict Ukraine airspace

From CNN’s Oren Liebermann and Tim Lister

Ukraine's aviation authorities have issued a notice restricting the country's airspace starting early Thursday morning and lasting until midnight GMT (7 p.m. ET).

The alert, known as a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM), covers all five of the country's flight information regions (FIRS) — restricting aviation in the regions around around Kyiv, Dnipro, Lviv, Odessa and Simferopol.

The flight tracking service FlightRadar24 shows a flight from Warsaw to Kyiv, Lot 755, turned around before entering Ukrainian airspace and is returning to the Polish capital.

The website shows no civil aircraft in Ukrainian airspace. 

10:06 p.m. ET, February 23, 2022

BREAKING: Putin announces a "special military operation" in Donbas

From CNN's Nathan Hodge in Moscow

Russian President Vladimir Putin says his troops will take action in the separatist-held region of Ukraine he declared independent this week.

9:59 p.m. ET, February 23, 2022

UN Secretary General: "President Putin, stop your troops from attacking Ukraine"

From CNN’s Mirna Alsharif

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres told Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop "attacking Ukraine" and to give peace a chance, speaking at an emergency UN Security Council meeting on Wednesday night.

“The day was full of rumors and indications of an offensive against Ukraine was imminent. In the recent past, there were several situations with similar indications, similar rumors. And I never believed in them, convinced that nothing serious would happen,” Guterres told the council. “I was wrong. And I would like not to be wrong again today.”

“So, if indeed an operation is being prepared, I've only one thing to say from the bottom of my heart: President Putin, stop your troops from attacking the Ukraine. Give peace a chance. Too many people have already died."
9:57 p.m. ET, February 23, 2022

US ambassador to the UN urges Russia to "back away from the brink before it is too late"

From CNN's Jennifer Hansler

US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield.
US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield. (UNTV)

The US Ambassador to the United Nations on Wednesday night called on Russia to “back away from the brink, before it is too late.”

“We are here tonight because we believe, along with Ukraine, that a full-scale, further invasion into Ukraine by Russia is imminent,” Linda Thomas-Greenfield said at an emergency UN Security Council meeting.
“Tonight, we’re seeing the Russians close airspace, move troops into Donbas, and move forces into combat-ready positions,” she added, calling this “a perilous moment.”
“And we are here for one reason and one reason only: to ask Russia to stop. Return to your border. Send your troops, and your tanks, and your planes back to their barracks and hangars. And send your diplomats to the negotiating table,” she said.

Thomas-Greenfield said she had spoken to US President Joe Biden prior to the meeting, and he asked her “to convey in the strongest possible terms his — and our — steadfast support for Ukraine, and support for the urgent meeting this Council has convened tonight.”

“Furthermore, he asked me to share that the United States and our allies and partners will continue to respond to Russia’s actions with unity, with clarity, and with conviction,” she said.

9:22 p.m. ET, February 23, 2022

US State Department warns of Russian false flags, including claims that Ukraine is attacking Donetsk

From CNN's Jennifer Hansler

State Department spokesperson Ned Price on Wednesday night reiterated US warnings about potential Russian false flags that Moscow could use to justify an invasion. 

“Beware of the following Kremlin disinformation campaigns seeking to justify military action - no evidence supports any of these false claims," Price tweeted.

Read the tweet:

9:36 p.m. ET, February 23, 2022

Blinken says US has imposed sanctions on company building Russian gas pipeline

From CNN's Jennifer Hansler

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. (Carolyn Kaster/AFP/Getty Images/FILE)

The United States has terminated waivers and imposed sanctions on Nord Stream 2 AG — the parent company of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline — and its top executives, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement Wednesday night.

US President Joe Biden said earlier in the day he had authorized the sanctions “in response to Russia’s actions in Ukraine.” 

The waivers: Last year, the Biden administration waived the sanctions on the company behind the controversial gas pipeline between Russia and Germany, claiming “it was in the national interests of the United States.”

However, Blinken said Wednesday that following Russia’s actions this week, those waivers were no longer in the US' national interest. The newly imposed sanctions and visa restrictions target the company, its CEO Matthias Warnig, and its corporate officers.

“All property and interests in property of those sanctioned that are in or come within the United States or are in the possession or control of U.S. persons must be blocked and reported to the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC),” Blinken said in the statement.
“Individuals and entities knowingly engaged in sanctionable conduct related to Nord Stream 2 face similar sanctions risks.”
9:07 p.m. ET, February 23, 2022

Ukrainian forces "shell Donetsk," according to separatists and Russian state TV 

From CNN's Nathan Hodge in Moscow

Russian state news reported on Thursday that Ukrainian security forces have shelled the pro-Moscow region of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, citing reports from the Donetsk People's Republic representative office in the Joint Center for Control and Coordination of the Ceasefire Regime (JCCC).

State news agency RIA-Novosti quoted the report as saying the shelling was in the direction of the village of the Trudovskaya mine, on the outskirts of Donetsk, at 2:40 a.m. Ten 120mm mortars had been fired, heavy weapons that are prohibited by the Minsk agreements, according to the reports.

Russian state television also reported heavy fire in separatist-held parts of eastern Ukraine. CNN could not immediately verify those reports.

The US State Department has warned that Russia may use so-called false flags, including claims that Ukraine is attacking Donetsk, to justify an invasion. 

Some background: The 2015 Minsk agreement was hammered out in the Belarusian capital in a bid to end what was then a bloody 10-month conflict in eastern Ukraine. But it has never been fully implemented, with its key issues still unresolved.

It was was signed by representatives of Russia, Ukraine, the separatist leaders and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). It was subsequently endorsed by a UN Security Council resolution. This put an end to the worst of the fighting at the time.