Ukraine said that at least seven people were killed and nine wounded by Russian shelling, as per a Reuters report. The casualties are the latest in a series of fastpaced developments that began when Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a military operation in Ukraine early Thursday.  
 
Following this, explosions were reported in several of Ukraine and air sirens went off in Kyiv, indicating that the capital city is under attack. Shortly afterwards, the Russian defence ministry said that Ukraine`s air bases and military infrastructure has been neutralised, according to an IFX news agency report. Russianbacked separatists claimed control of two towns in the Luhansk region of Ukraine, said Reuters.  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky declared martial law on Thursday, and Ukrainian Foreign Minister vowed to fight Russia and be defeated. Large-scale operations by Russian troops have been carried out on the Russian-Ukrainian border for days. Tensions increased after Putin admitted that the two separatist regions of Ukraine were independent and ordered the deployment of so-called peacekeepers.