Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered an attack on Ukraine.

Russia is conducting a military operation in several cities in Ukraine after Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation” in eastern Ukraine at the same time as the UN Security Council convened  a meeting for the second time in an emergency this week.

Russian media have reported that President Putin has said he has authorized a “special military operation” in Ukraine’s Donbas region, where Moscow has already recognized rebel-held territories of Luhansk and Donetsk regions of Ukraine as independent and taken their special forces in the areas

Clashes between Russian and Ukrainian forces were short-lived. Explosions also rocked the besieged city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine and warned of civilian planes, while there were reports that the navy  forces had landed in Odessa in Mariupol.

In a statement posted on his Twitter account, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said: “Putin has now launched a major offensive attack  in Ukraine.”  He added

“The peaceful cities of Ukraine are on strike,” he said in a statement. This is an aggressive war. Ukraine will defend and win. The world can  stop Putin and now is the time to act. ”

” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has condemned Russia’s actions, saying “return the humanitarian name to your Russian troops.” at the beginning of the century with consequences not only damaging to Ukraine, not only sadly for the Russian Federation, but the impact can not even be realized.

” Putin called on Ukrainian forces to lay down their arms and reiterated his position that any Ukrainian member of NATO should be “unacceptable” in Moscow, according to state media.