Explosions are heard in the streets in Kiev, Odessa, Kharkov and other cities of Ukraine

One of the first to report this was the correspondent of the American television channel CNN Matthew Chance during a live broadcast from the Ukrainian capital Kiev.

“One of the breaks interrupted a journalist who was broadcasting from the vicinity of the Mikhailovsky Cathedral in the city center”, - RIA Novosti reports.

Correspondents also report shooting at the Kiev Boryspil International Airport.

“Explosions are here in Kiev”, - reports ABC correspondent Ian Pannell on his Twitter page.

“The CNN team reports they heard loud explosions in Kharkiv, Ukraine. A CNN team in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city located in the country's northeast, hears "a continuous stream of loud explosions". CNN reporters on the ground also said they heard explosions near Kiev.

According to UNIAN, explosions were heard in Kramatorsk, Odessa, Kharkov, Berdyansk. There were reports of explosions in Mariupol.

This morning, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the start of a military special operation in the Donbass. He made the corresponding statement after the appeal of the heads of the DPR and LPR with a request for military assistance. The Russian leader said that the occupation of Ukraine is not included in Moscow's plans.