The Ukrainian government on Thursday morning said that over 40 of its soldiers had been killed by Russian fire, and dozens more were injured.
At the same time, Ukraine has said that around 50 "Russian occupiers" have been killed, and six Russian planes had been shot down. BBC could not verify this claim, the site said.
Thick smoke billowed from the Defense Ministry's intelligence headquarters in Kyiv, followed by additional blasts in the Ukrainian capital. Ukrainian sources have said that at this stage, the Russian army is trying to invade the Kyiv area, and is attacking the Hostomel military airport near the city.
Ukraine's Interior Ministry said that, "One Russian helicopter K-52 and three helicopters near Hostomel were shot down in the Kyiv region, near Mezhyhirya."
In Chuhuiv, in Kharkov Oblast, a child was killed when his apartment complex was hit by shelling, the Kyiv Independent said.
Meanwhile, Tass reported that two Russian ships in the Azov Sea were hit by Ukrainian missiles, and that injuries had resulted.
Earlier on Thursday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the "demilitarization and denazification" of Ukraine were the reason for the "special operation" in Ukraine.
"Ideally, Ukraine should be liberated, cleansed of Nazis, of pro-Nazi people and ideology," he said.