The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces has claimed that five Russian aircraft and a helicopter were shot down early Thursday after Russian forces attack Ukraine. However, the Russian Ministry denied the claims.
Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a military operation in Ukraine on Thursday with explosions heard across the country and its foreign minister warning a "full-scale invasion" was underway. In the following hours, blasts were heard at several major cities across the eastern European country, and news agency Reuters reported missile strikes at Ukrainian military installations in the capital Kyiv. The military said that it shot down five Russian planes and one military helicopter was shot down in the Luhansk region. Moments later, Russia officially accepted that it destroyed Ukrainian airbases and air defenses.
However, a CNN journalist in Kyiv reported live explosions on camera. It happened the moments after Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a "special military operation" in Ukraine.
CNN reporter Matthew Chance after the explosion said, "This is the first time we've heard anything. It's been absolutely silent in this city throughout the course of tonight and for the past several weeks we've not seen anything at all."
"In fact, I've never heard anything like this in Kyiv for the years that I've been coming here and reporting from here. This is the first time" he added.