SHAH ALAM - Russian troops attacked Ukraine from Belarus as well as Russia, with Belarusian support, at about 5 am local time (07:00 GMT), Ukraine’s border guard service says.
Foreign media quoted the agency saying that an attack had also been launched from Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014.
Amidst the attacks, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy declares martial law throughout the country, assuring the public that Ukraine will ‘win’.
"Dear Ukrainian citizens, this morning President Putin announced a special military operation in Donbas. "Russia conducted strikes on our military infrastructure and our border guards. There were blasts heard in many cities of Ukraine. We’re introducing martial law on the whole territory of our country,” he said in a video address.
The president also said that he had just had a conversation with United States (US) President Joe Biden. He said the US had already started uniting international support. "Today each of you should keep calm. Stay at home if you can. "We are working. The army is working. The whole sector of defense and security is working. "No panic. We are strong. We are ready for everything. We will win over everybody because we are Ukraine,” he added.
Earlier, Zelenskyy stated that had unsuccessfully sought talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"I initiated a telephone call with the president of the Russian federation. Result: silence," he had said.
He added that Russia had almost 200,000 troops and thousands of combat vehicles on Ukraine's borders.
In other developments, Ukraine has also announced restrictions on civilian flights in its airspace due to "potential hazard". The move followed warnings from the conflict zone monitor Safe Airspace, which said planes risked being shot down unintentionally or affected by cyber attacks.
However, it was not made clear if the notice amounted to an outright ban on civilian flights. It is due to expire at 2359 GMT on Thursday, unless extended further.
It was also reported that Russia had issued a civil aviation notice warning that it was closing virtually all of eastern Ukrainian airspace on the border with Russia, according to a monitoring group.
The Open Source Intelligence Monitor says no "limit or ending time" has been provided so far by Moscow.
Yesterday, Ukraine declared a state of emergency and told millions of its citizens living in Russia to return home. The 30-day emergency status allows authorities to adopt heightened security measures, including curfews.
Meanwhile, Al Jazeera reported that the Russian military has been "very tight-lipped on what is happening on the ground with Ukraine”.
"We are hearing reports of the Russian military going in from various sides of Ukraine – from the east, from the west and now allegedly from the north in Belarus.
"It is clear now that this is not just a small military operation in the eastern region of Donbas as the president [Putin] had said,” journalist Dorba Jabbari, who is reporting from Moscow, said.
She said many residents in Moscow yesterday were commemorating their version of Remembrance day. The residents, she said, could not possibly fathom the idea of going to war with Ukraine.
"[They said] Ukraine is their neighbour, is part of their family, they are brother and sisters and there is really no justification for launching a full-scale attack on Ukraine,” she added.