Ukrainian troops are fighting the Russian army in in the north and the south, Ukrainian military chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi said Thursday afternoon.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
Zaluzhnyi said a battle was raging Thursday near the Hostomel air base 7 kilometers (less than 5 miles) northwest of the capital, Kyiv.
He said that in the south, fighting was going on near Henichesk, Skadovsk and Chaplynka.
Ukrainian police on Thursday said Russia had carried out 203 attacks since the beginning of the day, with fighting going on almost everywhere throughout Ukraine's territory.
State border guards said the Ukrainian military was fighting Russian forces near the eastern city of Sumy. Ukraine's defense minister said some Russian forces had been taken prisoner in heavy fighting.
A boy was killed in eastern Ukraine's Kharkiv region after shelling struck an apartment building, emergency services said.
An adviser to Ukraine's presidential office said more than 40 Ukrainian soldiers were dead and dozens wounded.
Meanwhile, Russia's Defense Ministry said the Russian military has destroyed 74 Ukrainian military facilities, including 11 air bases.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu ordered that Ukrainian servicemen be treated "with respect" and those who lay down their weapons offered safe corridors.
The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed the loss of a Su-25 attack jet due to "pilot error."
Israel denounced Thursday the Russian invasion of Ukraine, calling it "a grave breach of international order."
"Israel condemns the attack and is ready to offer humanitarian assistance to Ukrainian citizens," Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said in a press statement, adding that "Israel and Ukraine have good and deep ties."
President Isaac Herzog also condemned Moscow, saying it was "working against peace."
"The attack could deteriorate and create chaos in Europe and, some say, even cause an unprecedented war. Our hearts go out to the suffering of the Ukrainian people. I hope there will not be many casualties in the conflict and Russia will retreat," said Herzog, who is currently on a diplomatic trip in Greece.
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg condemned Russia's invasion, saying "Despite our repeated warnings and tireless efforts to engage in diplomacy, Russia has chosen the path of aggression." He also warned Moscow that the alliance will "do all it takes to protect and defend" NATO members. He has called an emergency meeting of NATO ambassadors to "address the situation in Ukraine and the consequences of Russia's unprovoked attack." Ukraine borders on several NATO members.
He called the invasion a "grave breach of international law and a serious threat to Euro-Atlantic security. I call on Russia to cease its military action immediately."
"Russia has attacked Ukraine. This is a brutal act of war. Our thoughts are with the brave people of Ukraine," Stoltenberg told reporters. "Peace in our continent has been shattered. We now have war in Europe, on a scale and of a type we thought belong to history."
"NATO is the strongest alliance in history, and make no mistake we will defend every ally against any attack on every inch of NATO territory," he said at the organization's Brussels headquarters. "An attack on one ally will trigger a response from the whole alliance," Stoltenberg said.
By noon Thursday, NATO announced that it has agreed to beef up its land, sea and air forces on its eastern flank near Ukraine and Russia.
"We are deploying additional defensive land and air forces to the eastern part of the alliance, as well as additional maritime assets," NATO ambassadors said in a joint statement. "We have increased the readiness of our forces to respond to all contingencies," their statement said.
While some of NATO's 30 member countries are supplying arms, ammunition and other equipment to Ukraine, NATO as an organization is not. It won't launch any military action in support of Ukraine, which is a close partner but has no prospect of joining.
European Union leaders are poised to discuss new, tough sanctions on Russia at an emergency meeting later on Thursday, in reaction to its "barbaric attack" on Ukraine, the 27-nation bloc's officials said.
EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said, "These are among the darkest hours of Europe since the Second World War."
Israel's Foreign Ministry called on all Israelis in Ukraine to make their way out through the country's western borders: Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania. Around 8,000 Israeli nationals are thought to have remained in Ukraine despite calls from the Foreign Ministry and Prime Minister Naftali Bennett in recent days to leave.
The Foreign Ministry has set up the following emergency phone lines for Ukraine related queries: +972 (0)2-530 3911, +972 (0)2-530 3401, and +972 (0)2-530 3287.
At the United Nations, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop the war "in the name of humanity."
Ukrainian ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya called on his Russian counterpart Vassily Nebenzia to relinquish the presidency of the Security Council, which Russia holds this month, after he said he was not in a position to promise Russia will not shell of bomb Ukrainian cities.
"There is no purgatory for war criminals. They go straight to hell, ambassador," the Ukrainian ambassador told Nebenzia.
Similarly, exiled Kremlin critic and Russian political activist Mikhail Khodorkovsky accused Putin and his associates of starting the war in order to hold on to their power.
Khodorkovsky, a former oil tycoon who fell foul of the Kremlin, urged Russians to oppose Putin's moves.
"We need to be clear that it is Putin and his entourage who started the war in order to hold onto their power – not the Russian people. Unleashing a war of aggression and using the armed forces for personal gain signifies that a junta led by Putin has seized power in Russia. Friends, compatriots, I urge you to use every opportunity to oppose this war. It will be fatal for the development of Russian society and a critical factor for Russian statehood," he said.
Khodorkovsky, once Russia's richest man, was arrested on a plane in Siberia in 2003 and jailed for massive tax evasion and fraud, and his once-mighty oil company, Yukos, was split apart.
The Kremlin cast him as a common criminal. Khodorkovsky denied the charges and was released in 2013 after spending 10 years in custody. He now lives in Britain.
"It is the duty of every decent person to take part in the anti-war movement, to disobey the orders of the junta," Khodorkovsky said.
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
