Pavel Polityuk, Polina Nikolskaya

KYIV/DONETSK – Russian President Vladimir Putin approved a military operation against eastern Ukraine Thursday. The move could mark the start of European war over Russia’s calls for an end NATO’s eastward expansion.

A Reuters witness reported hearing the sound of what appeared like explosions just after Putin had spoken.

Donetsk, an eastern Ukrainian breakaway city that was seized by Russia in March 2014, also saw explosions. Civil aircraft were evacuated as America warned of a Russian attack on the neighboring country.

Russian media reports that Putin stated in comments that he has authorized special military operations in the eastern Ukraine breakaway zones. It was clear that clashes between Ukrainian and Russian forces would only be a matter for time.

After pro-Russian separatists had pleaded with Moscow to help stop the alleged Ukrainian aggression, claims that the United States rejected as Russian propaganda, Putin claimed that he had directed Russian forces to defend the people. He demanded the surrender of the arms and weapons by the Ukrainian forces.

He reiterated his belief that NATO expansion to Ukraine was not acceptable.

The United States stated shortly after Putin announced that an invasion was likely at the U.N. Security Council.

U.S. Linda Thomas-Greenfield was the Ambassador of Ukraine to United Nations. She spoke at an emergency meeting.

“Tonight we’re seeing the Russians close airspace, move troops into Donbas, and move forces into combat-ready positions. This is dangerous.

Ukraine banned civilian flight in its airspace for “potential hazards” hours after a monitor from conflict zones warned that overflights could be disrupted by a cyber-attack or unintended shootdown.

Flight tracking site FlightRadar24 reports that an El Al flight connecting Tel Aviv and Toronto was cancelled, as well as a LOT Polish Airlines flight linking Warsaw to Kyiv.

According to its notification to airmen, Russia partially shut down its Rostov airspace to the east border of Ukraine’s airspace “in order provide safety” to civil aviation flights.

According to Reuters, convoys carrying military equipment and nine tanks moved towards Donetsk from the Russian border earlier Wednesday.

The shelling is intensifying since Russian President Vladimir Putin declared two independent regions in Russia and sent peacekeepers to be deployed. This move was deemed by the West as an invasion.

On Wednesday, 15 members of the U.N. Security Council met for talks about the situation. It was the second late night meeting regarding the crisis in this week’s U.N. Security Council.

Russia’s veto means that a resolution calling for Moscow to be punished over actions it has taken toward its neighbor will fail. A diplomat at the Security Council said however, it would alert Russia to the fact it was “not in conformity with international law”.

Janet Yellen was the U.S. Treasury secretary and spoke to her counterparts in Canada and Britain. G7 leaders were also scheduled to speak on Thursday.

Moscow, which has tens of thousand troops in its vicinity of Russia’s neighbor, has denied ever having plans to invade.

Putin claimed that Putin made these comments in the Russian media.

WAR FOOTING?

Senior U.S. Defence official stated that 80% of Russian soldiers are now in position to invade Ukraine.

The U.S. satellite company Maxar reported that the new images from western Russia were taken Wednesday using satellite imagery. They showed many deployments within 10 to 16 miles of Ukraine’s border, and less than 50 miles of Kharkiv in Ukraine.

These images show field deployment, army convoys, and artillery. They also include armoured personnel carriers and support equipment. Reuters could not independently verify the images.

On Thursday, Ukraine declared a state of emergency for 30 days, which restricts freedom of movement for conscripted reservists. It also curbs media coverage and imposes personal document inspections.

Ukrainian authorities have announced that compulsory military service is mandatory for men over the age of 18.

The West has resisted the most severe sanctions, but the United States increased the pressure and imposed penalties on Nord Stream 2’s builder as well as its corporate executives.

Germany stopped approvals of the proposed pipeline on Tuesday amid fears that it might allow Moscow to control energy supply to Europe.

Both parties have stated that they are open to dialogue to solve the crisis. But, Volodymyr Zeleskiy (Ukraine President) said earlier that Moscow had accepted an offensive and rejected an invitation for negotiations.

“Today I began a telephone conversation to the President of Russian Federation. “The result was silence,” said he.

The Ukrainian government website, previously affected by cyberattacks in Kyiv, was again unavailable on Wednesday. Websites of Ukraine’s Parliament, Cabinet and Foreign Ministry were also affected.