Drivers flocked to a petrol station in Slovyansk City following Russia’s attacks on Ukraine on Thursday, February 24 shortly before 11 a.m. local time.

Footage shows an unmoving queue of cars waiting to refuel at the eastern Ukrainian city near the border.

Drivers flocked to a petrol station in Slovyansk City following Russia’s attacks on Ukraine on Thursday.

Footage taken on February 24 shortly before 11am local time shows an unmoving queue of cars waiting to refuel at the eastern Ukrainian city near the border.

Explosions were reported in the cities of Mariupol, Kharkiv, Sumy, and the country’s capital Kyiv as well as other cities close to the border between Russia and Ukraine. Dozens of people are feared dead.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine’s Donbas region. He said in a public address on Thursday: ‘We decided to launch a special military action aimed at demilitarisation and denazification of Ukraine.’

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has pleaded for peace, but added that Ukraine will defend itself from any invasion attempts. He said: ‘If they attack, if they try to take our county – our freedom, our lives, the lives of our children – we will be defending ourselves.’

Ukraine said it had killed ‘around 50 Russian occupiers.’ The large-scale attack left at least 137 citizens – both military and civilian – dead, and 316 more injured.