Timeline: How did Russia’s invasion of Ukraine unfold?

Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine began early on Thursday and violence has spread across the country

Russia launched a large-scale military invasion on Ukraine following orders of Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday morning.

Russian troops entered the eastern European country from all sides and from land, air and sea, with reports of attacks and missile strikes across the country, including near to the capital, Kiev.

The invasion comes after several months of increasing tensions and a worsening relationship between Russia and the west.

Troops from Russia began to gather along the border of Ukraine from March 2021, but it was not until December last year that tensions started to run particularly high. At this point there were believed to be around 100,000 Russian troops surrounding the country.

The New Year brought with it talks between Nato, Russia and the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). There was also a January meeting between the US and Russia in Geneva, in a bid to de-escalate tensions, but this was to no avail.

Nato later announced on 24 January that it was “putting forces on standby and sending additional ships and fighter jets to Nato deployments in eastern Europe.”

The organisation gave reasons for the move, citing the need to reinforce “Allied deterrence and defence” due to Russia’s “military build-up in and around Ukraine.”

By the start of February, relations grew even worse and both Russia and Ukraine began to carry out military exercises. This included Russian troops carrying out a series of nuclear drills and military drills in neighbouring Belarus, a move which left the west increasingly worried.

Russian troop movements and reported explosions in Ukraine (Press Association Images)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told CNN on Sunday that all signs suggested Russia was about to invade, an assumption that now appears was correct, although at the time Russia repeatedly denied such plans.

“Everything we are seeing suggests that this is dead serious, that we are on the brink of an invasion,” Mr Blinken said on Sunday.

A number of so-called “false flag operations” - where both the US and UK suggested that Russia acted in a way in which to “fabricate a pretext for an invasion" of Ukraine - also took place, according to the west.

These included US officials alleging on 3 February that Russia was intent on creating a “very graphic propaganda video" that would depict a fake attack by Ukraine against Russia.

Two weeks later, on 17 February, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson claimed that the shelling of a nursery school in the Donbas region of Ukraine was a “false-flag operation” aimed at discrediting the Ukrainian government.

The attack was carried out  by Russian-backed separatists in the east of the country, and was one of “multiple shelling incidents” which took place that day.

Following the incident, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the Ukrainian president, accused the Russian side of “provocative shelling”.

Later, on 21 February, Mr Putin gave a speech saying that Russia would officially recognise the independence and sovereignty of the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic - two breakway regions in eastern Ukraine.

Mr Putin went on to add that should Ukraine join Nato, this would “serve as a direct threat to the security of Russia.”

Following the Russian president’s speech on Monday, western powers started to impose sanctions on Russia, threatening its economy in a bid to dissuade it from invading Ukraine.

Yet these sanctions failed to have the desired impact, and in the early hours of Thursday morning - 05:55 Moscow time (02:55 GMT) - Mr Putin gave a televised address ordering a “specialised military operation”.

He went on to add the threat that any intervention from outside powers would be met with an "instant" response from Russia.

Russian troops entered Ukraine from all sides and from air, sea and land, prompting many civilians to flee and drawing mass condemnation from leaders around the world. Explosions were heard all over Ukraine as a number of missiles struck cities across the country, including the capital Kiev.

Here is a timeline of events so far:

03:00 GMT – Putin announces invasion.

03:35 GMT – International condemnation.

3:46 GMT – ​​Explosions reportedly heard in eastern Ukraine.

04:00 GMT – Ukraine Ministry of Infrastructure says passenger and staff evacuated from Kiev airport.

04:15 GMT – Explosions heard near Kiev.

04:30 GMT – Ukraine says Russia has launched ‘full-scale invasion’.

04:41 GMT – Kiev mayor tells citizens to stay home.

04:45 GMT – Ukraine shuts down its entire airspace.

05:00 GMT – Russia says it is targeting ‘junta’ in Kiev.

05:25 GMT – Russia says they are targeting Ukraine military facilities with ‘precision’ weapons/

05:30 GMT  – Russia suspends flights at domestic airports near to the Ukraine border until 2 March.

06:00 GMT – Ukraine says troops attacked from Belarus.

06:05 GMT – President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declares martial law.

06:15 GMT –  ​​Poland says that it expects NATO’s eastern flank to be reinforced.

06:20 GMT – Russia says it has degraded Ukraine’s air defence.

06:48 GMT – Separatists claim capture of Ukrainian towns.

07:00 GMT – Ukraine says it has shot down Russian planes, a statement which Russia denies.

07:15 GMT – Ukraine says Russian military hardware entering from Crimea.

08:25 GMT – Security camera footage shows Russian military vehicles crossing into Ukraine from Crimea.

09:30 GMT – Mr Zelenskyy calls on citizens to fight

10:37 GMT: More than 40 soldiers and about 10 civilians had been killed, say Ukrainian authorities.

13.28 GMT: Mr Zelensky makes a televised address, in which he said Russia has attacked Ukraine in a "cunning way” and compares Mr Putin to Hitler in the Second World War.

14:55 GMT: Blasts reported in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city.

16:00 GMT: A K-52 "Alligator" Russian helicopter is shot down in the Kiev region, the Ukrainian Interior Ministry confirmed.