The Russian offensive against Ukraine is continuing to intensify with bombing raids on the southern coastal city of Odessa resuming close to noon. According to Ukrainian accounts, at least 18 people have been killed in Odessa alone and hundreds have been killed during the course of the day, including civilians.
Ukrainian Border Police forces have been reporting explosions in Kyiv which have been independently confirmed. Hostomel Airport, on the outskirts of the capital, is under attack by Russian Mi-8 and Ka-52 helicopters taking off from locations in Belarus. At least 20 aircraft are reported to have taken part in the assault; one helicopter was shot down and its pilot taken captive, The Guardian reports.
According to Rob Lee, a senior analyst with the Foreign Policy Research Institute, the attack on Hostomel Airport is in order to "rapidly bring in mechanized VDV air assault forces with BMD armored vehicles, which could quickly threaten Kyiv."
Meanwhile, a statement from the Kremlin insisted that: "Putin will decide how long the military operation in Ukraine will last," adding that "the operation in Ukraine was designed to meet two objectives: the demilitarization of Ukraine and the de-Nazification of Ukraine."