Russian troops began launching attacks on Ukraine Thursday, with explosions reported in the capital of Kyiv and more than a dozen other cities and towns across the country.
Russia crossed the Ukrainian border in several areas including the southern port city of Odessa, the northeastern border into Ukraine’s second-largest city of Kharkiv and the area north of Kyiv.
The following map shows the locations of blasts reported so far.
This map highlight more than a dozen locations in Ukraine where explosions have been reported since Russia launched attacks Thursday (CTV News)
NATO, meanwhile, has condemned the Russian invasion. Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg called it a "reckless attack" by Russia that "puts at risk countless civilian lives."
Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania—four NATO member states—triggered consultations under Article 4, which can lead to collective action among the 30 member states, according to NATO.
Since 1949, when NATO was formed, Article 4 has been invoked six times – most recently by Turkey after dozens of its soldiers were killed in Syrian air strikes in February, 2020.
“The Parties will consult together whenever, in the opinion of any of them, the territorial integrity, political independence or security of any of the Parties is threatened,” Article 4 of the NATO Treaty says.
The map below shows countries surrounding Ukraine that are currently NATO member states.
This map shows countries surrounding Ukraine that are currently NATO member states (CTV News)
Ukraine has a population of nearly 44 million people, according to Worldometer’s elaboration of latest United Nations data.
Ukraine is the eighth most populous country in Europe, with a size approximately equivalent to Texas. Nearly 70 per cent of the population lives in urban centres. The top five cities with the highest populations are Kyiv with 2.8 million; Kharkiv with 1.4 million; and Dnipro, Donetsk and Odessa with around 1 million each.
The cartogram below by World Mapper shows the concentrations of populations around major centres.
Worldmapper cartogram of Ukraine showing population (www.worldmapper.org)
Maps by CTV News' Jasna Baric
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