Russian Defense Ministry spokesperson, Igor Konashenkov, told reporters Friday that Russian Armed Forces have surrounded Kyiv from the west direction.

Konashenkov said, "At the moment, the main airborne forces joined the Russian landing units at Gostomel airport, which led to the closure of the city of Kyiv from the west."

On Thursday morning Feb 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a military operation in Donbas, southeast of Ukraine.

Russia stressed that they do not plan to occupy Ukrainian territory.

Putin added that Russia, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, is now one of the most powerful countries in the world; No one should doubt that any attack against it will result in the defeat of the aggressor.

The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed in a statement that "all tasks assigned to units of the Russian forces today were successfully carried out."

The Ministry added that 83 ground targets of the military infrastructure of Ukraine were disabled, and two Ukrainian Su-27 planes, two Su-24s, one helicopter, and four Bayraktar TB-2 unmanned aerial vehicles were shot down.

Declaring that Russian forces in Lugansk and Donetsk republics broke through the well-equipped defenses of the Ukrainian forces and advanced 6-8 kilometers with artillery and aviation aid.