People inside the under-siege country have been warned not to panic but a state of martial law has been declared.
Inhabitants of Kyiv leave the city following pre-offensive missile strikes of the Russian armed forces and Belarus on February 24, 2022, in Kyiv, Ukraine.
Overnight, Russia began a large-scale attack on Ukraine, with explosions reported in multiple cities and far outside the restive eastern regions held by Russian-backed rebels, UK Metro reports.
The roads out of Kyiv have filled with cars as families attempt to get to safer territory following the start of the Russian invasion.
People inside the under-siege country have been warned not to panic but a state of martial law has been declared.
In an address to the nation, President Volodymyr Zelensky told people to stay at home unless they are involved in critical work.
But pictures showed cars bumper-to-bumper on the roads out of the capital with drivers attempting to get closer to the Polish border, where it is seen as safer.
Although there have been fears of a potential invasion for many months, Ukrainian leaders have consistently downplayed the fears and many hoped this day would never come.
Liudmila Gireyeva, 64, was planning to head to the western city of Lviv and then try to move to Poland to join her daughter.
‘We are facing a war and horror. What could be worse?’ she said.
Inside Kyiv, it has been described as ‘eerily quiet’ although large queues have formed at ATMs as news of the ‘full-scale’ invasion spread.
Explosions were heard at dawn in the capital as well as the country’s other big cities of Odesa and Kharkiv after Vladimir Putin’s announcement that the military operation had begun.
Elsewhere, luggage was seen abandoned at Kyiv airport and planes were diverted from Ukrainian airspace.
A striking image of the European flight map showed the skies above the country were completely empty despite crowds of aircraft elsewhere on the continent.
Ukraine’s State Air Traffic Services Enterprise has confirmed it closed the country’s airspace at 12.45am ‘due to the high risk of aviation safety for civil aviation’.
Commercial airlines, including Ryanair and Wizz Air, that were still operating flights have postponed services due to the security situation.