Ukrainian forces were in "all-out defense mode” on Thursday to repel a multipronged Russian assault by land, sea and air. The Ukrainian military claimed to have shot down several Russian military aircraft, and civilians lined up at recruitment offices to take up arms against President Vladimir Putin’s forces.
More than 40 Ukrainian soldiers were killed and dozens were wounded in fighting Thursday morning, said Oleksiy Arestovich, an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine.
The country’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said that Ukraine was facing "a full-scale attack from multiple directions” but that it "continues to defend itself” from the Russian advance.