Thread by @Reuters

Russian President Vladimir Putin has authorized troops to carry out a special military operation in the Donbass region of Ukraine, Russian news agencies said reut.rs/3IgLYEh

UPDATE: Russian President Vladimir Putin authorizes a military operation in eastern Ukraine reut.rs/3sdJ8dq

More explosions heard in Ukraine's Kyiv, according to a Reuters witness

S&P futures are down 2% after Putin authorizes military operation in eastern Ukraine

Brent crude oil futures hit $100 a barrel for the first time since 2014

President Biden says the United States and its allies will respond to the 'unjustified' attack by Russia on Ukraine reut.rs/3pca7UJ

Ukraine says passengers and staff evacuated from Kyiv airport

'President Putin, in the name of humanity, bring your troops back to Russia:' United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in a last-minute plea to the Russian president reut.rs/3JQXiai

Ukraine said it had closed its airspace to civilian flights because of a ‘high risk’ to safety reut.rs/3sfGIv2

Global stocks and U.S. bond yields dived while the dollar, gold and oil prices rocketed higher as Russian troops landed in Ukrainian cities on the Black Sea and Ukraine said Moscow had launched a full-scale invasion reut.rs/3vdtzEt

Japan and Australia said they were prepared to tap their oil reserves, together with other member nations of the International Energy Agency, if global supplies were hit by hostilities in Ukraine reut.rs/3t26iCH

Russian forces fired missiles at several Ukrainian cities and landed troops on its south coast, officials and media said, after President Vladimir Putin authorized what he called a special military operation in the east reut.rs/33KWEfa

Ukraine's armed forces are heavily outnumbered and outgunned by Russia's, but as Russia begins what may be a large-scale invasion, military experts say they would be capable of mounting significant resistance and inflicting heavy casualties reut.rs/3Hcb2e5

Russian President Vladimir Putin said he had authorized a special military operation in breakaway areas of eastern Ukraine reut.rs/36qNYvo

Ukraine military says five Russian planes and a Russian helicopter were shot down in Luhansk region

President Vladimir Putin announced his military operation in eastern Ukraine in an address on Russian state TV that was broadcast at the same time as the U.N. Security Council began its meeting in New York reut.rs/3ve3c1o

U.S. banks were well-prepared for the Western sanctions announced so far over Russia's aggression toward Ukraine, but they are still nailing down details and worry that new measures could increase the cost and complexity of enforcing the new restrictions reut.rs/34WLpkF

Despite President Joe Biden's efforts to head off a Russian attack against Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin was undeterred. How Biden handles the crisis is expected to have profound implications for his political fortunes and U.S. relations with the world reut.rs/3BKabA8

Reuters witnesses in Kyiv heard a series of explosions shortly after Russia announced a military operation in Ukraine reut.rs/3taJd10

How Ukraine's armed forces shape up against Russia's.

Here are some details of Ukraine's military reut.rs/3JRDGTu

Here is a timeline of the main events in Ukraine's political history since it won independence from Moscow in 1991 reut.rs/3pdYQ6m

Ukrainian military tank and armored vehicles were seen parked on the street in Mariupol, a port town which is less than 12 miles from the nearest trenches in the eastern Donbass region reut.rs/3Ha1mkt

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia had carried out missile strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure and border guards, adding martial law had been declared and he had appealed to world leaders to impose all possible sanctions on Russia reut.rs/36C4B7D

‘There is no purgatory for war criminals. They go straight to hell,’ Ukraine's U.N. Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya said as he addressed his Russian counterpart, Vassily Nebenzia, during an emergency meeting held by the U.N. Security Council reut.rs/3pbe8sP

Ukraine has asked Turkey to close the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits to Russian ships, Ukraine's ambassador to Ankara said, after Russia launched air and ground assaults on its neighbor reut.rs/3t2VnsG

Under the international Montreux Convention, NATO member Turkey has control over passage of vessels between the Mediterranean and Black Sea, making it a potentially key player in any military conflict between Russia and Ukraine reut.rs/3t2VnsG

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on all citizens who were ready to defend the country from Russian forces to come forward, saying Kyiv would issue weapons to everyone who wants them reut.rs/3LXwiba

An unidentified missile struck southern Kyiv. A witness said she ‘heard a terrible explosion of unbelievable power.’ More on the Ukraine crisis: reut.rs/3t0Iqj3

China rejected calling Russia's moves on Ukraine an ‘invasion’ and urged all sides to exercise restraint, even as it advised its citizens there to stay home or at least take the precaution of displaying a Chinese flag if they needed to drive anywhere reut.rs/3BUmcTN

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg condemned Russia's 'cold-blooded' invasion of Ukraine 'in the strongest possible terms' reut.rs/3LRr8gV

‘I love both countries so for me it is painful’: Reactions in Donetsk were mixed as Russian forces invaded Ukraine after President Vladimir Putin authorized what he called a special military operation in the east. Read more on the Russia-Ukraine crisis reut.rs/3t0Iqj3

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Britain and its allies would unleash a massive package of economic sanctions to hobble the Russian economy after the Kremlin launched an all-out invasion of neighboring Ukraine reut.rs/3LRr8gV

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Ukrainian forces were fighting to prevent Russian troops from capturing the former nuclear power plant at Chernobyl reut.rs/3t4Kl63

Here are reactions from political leaders and other senior figures who are shaping events after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine reut.rs/3LUX2sT

How the West saw Vladimir Putin's Russian invasion of Ukraine coming but was powerless to stop it from happening reut.rs/3p9PDw8

Ukraine's ambassador to the United States Oksana Markarova said that the Ukrainian military was fighting back against a Russian invasion and that 'all Ukrainians' would resist the assault. Watch the briefing: twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1…

Russian police detained at least 389 people at anti-war protests that took place in 39 Russian cities, the OVD-Info protest monitor said twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1…

Protesters against Russia's Ukraine invasion gather in New York's Time Square twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1…

The Chernobyl nuclear power plant has been captured by Russian forces, an adviser to the Ukrainian presidential office, Mykhailo Podolyak, says reut.rs/3vaVCEJ

People in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second biggest city, took shelter from expected Russian air strikes in a metro station reut.rs/3JOT8jp

U.S. President Joe Biden says he is authorizing new sanctions, including exports, aiming to maximize the long-term impact on Russia and minimize impact on Europe. Watch live: twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1…

The White House said a media report suggesting that President Joe Biden was presented with options to carry out cyberattacks to disrupt Russia's ability to sustain its military operations in Ukraine was 'wildly off base' reut.rs/3hbz26L

Several thousand Ukrainians have crossed into neighboring countries, mainly Moldova and Romania, while an estimated 100,000 have fled their homes and are uprooted in the country after Russia's invasion, the U.N. refugee agency said reut.rs/3pag19a

Ukrainians were crossing into Poland at the border in Medyka all day, many on foot with suitcases and bags reut.rs/3JOT8jp

What seemed like a tail risk event for world markets just a few weeks back became reality as Russia's attack on Ukraine generated a fresh wave of uncertainty and sent money managers scrabbling to assess the investment implications reut.rs/3heJ9Ym

Russia's invasion of Ukraine was condemned by the sporting community, with President Vladimir Putin's country set to lose hosting rights for the Champions League soccer final while Formula One drivers said it was 'wrong' to race there this year reut.rs/3Ims0rM

Canada announced more sanctions against Russia, targeting 62 individuals and entities, including members of the Russian elite and major Russian banks, and canceling all export permits, after Moscow launched an all-out invasion of Ukraine reut.rs/3pfFGx3

As NATO scrambles to respond to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a major exposed flank is the Black Sea. Despite a stated resolve to deter Russia, the alliance has failed to prevent it from building a presence in the area reut.rs/3Ii94Kp

'I am very scared': Ukrainians fleeing a Russian invasion have started trickling into Poland, with dozens arriving at the normally quiet Medyka crossing, some carrying luggage and accompanied by children reut.rs/356tCHE

U.S. President Joe Biden addressed the nation following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, calling out Vladimir Putin for his actions and adding that 'freedom will prevail' reut.rs/3LSoZBD

Russian forces are making advances on Ukraine's capital Kyiv and Moscow has continued to flow forces into the country, a senior U.S. defense official said reut.rs/3Hg1uyL

White House economic adviser Daleep Singh said that the Biden administration expects the costs of new sanctions to Russia will build over time and won't disrupt global energy flows. Watch the briefing: twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1…

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said that the Chernobyl nuclear power plant has been captured by Russian forces reut.rs/3BQ3MDJ

The United States and the European Union have opted not to cut Russia off from the SWIFT global interbank payments system as part of their sanctions against Moscow for invading Ukraine, but could revisit that issue, U.S. President Joe Biden said reut.rs/3M1UA3C

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy vowed to stay in Kyiv as his troops battled Russian invaders who are advancing toward the capital in the biggest attack on a European state since WWII reut.rs/3BMsjtg