Updated Feb 24, 2022 - World

In photos: Russia launches major military assault on Ukraine cities

Rebecca Falconer

Black smoke rises from a military airport in Chuguyev near Kharkiv on February 24. — Black smoke rises from a military airport in Chuhuiv, near Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Feb. 24. Photo: Aris Messinis /AFP via Getty Images

Kyiv and other cities across Ukraine were facing a major military assault by Russian forces overnight, in what Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba described as "a full-scale invasion" that's killed dozens of people.

The big picture: Shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a "special military operation" in Ukraine, Kuleba tweeted: "Peaceful Ukrainian cities are under strikes. This is a war of aggression." President Biden said the U.S. would impose further "severe sanctions" on Russia in response.

A man sits outside his destroyed building after bombings on the eastern Ukraine town of Chuhuiv on Feb. 24. Photo: Aris Messinis/AFP via Getty Images

A religious woman holds a cross as she prays on Independence square in Kyiv in the morning of February 24. — A woman prays in Kyiv's Independence Square in Kyiv on Feb. 24, as air raid sirens rang out. Photo: Daniel Leal/AFP via Getty Images

Ukrainian security forces accompany a wounded man after an airstrike hit an apartment complex in Chuhuiv, Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine on February 24. — Ukrainian security forces accompany a wounded man after an airstrike hit an apartment complex in Chuhuiv, Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine, on Feb. 24. Photo: Wolfgang Schwan/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Tanks of Ukrainian forces move following Russia's military operation on February 24, 2022, in Chuhuiv, Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine — Tanks of Ukrainian forces move following Russia's military operation on Feb. 24, in Chuhuiv, Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine. Photo: Wolfgang Schwan/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

People react standing behind the cordoned off area around the remains of a shell in Kyiv on February 24 — People react standing behind the cordoned-off area around the remains of a shell in Kyiv on Feb. 24. Photo: Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images

Police and security personnel inspect the remains of a shell in a street in Kyiv on February 24 — Police and security personnel inspect the remains of a shell in a street in Kyiv on Feb. 24. Photo: Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images

A man walks in a street as black smoke rises from a military airport in Chuguyev near Kharkiv on February 24. — A man walks in a street as black smoke rises from a military airport in Chuhuiv on Feb. 24. Photo: Aris Messinis/AFP via Getty Images

A police officer stands guard by the remains of a shell in Kyiv on Feb. 24. Photo: Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images

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In photos: Russia launches major military assault on Ukraine cities

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