Ukrainian troops shot down five Russian helicopters, destroyed dozens of tanks and captured at least 80 soldiers in the first hours of Vladimir Putin he ordered his forces to invade this morning.
Kiev’s army is much lower than its Russian counterpart with an air defense system, and the air force dates back to the Soviet era.
But NATO and the United States, despite deploying troops in neighboring Romania in recent months, have made it clear that no troops will be sent and left the Ukrainian military to keep the attack on its own.
Until Thursday afternoon, fighting is taking place in Kiev, along the northern border with Belarus, in Luhansk and Donetsk in the east and around Kherson, the Dnieper River and the port cities of Odessa and Mariupol in the south.
Few expect Ukraine to emerge victorious from what is almost certain to be a protracted, bloody and brutal war – but so far Kiev forces have managed to inflict heavy losses on Putin’s troops.
Here MailOnline looks at the losses inflicted by Ukrainian forces on Russia:
At least 15 T-72 tanks were destroyed or damaged by Ukrainian forces with the help of Javelin PTRK, a US anti-tank missile, near Glukhov in the eastern part of the country late this afternoon.
Ukrainian forces say they shot down at least four Russian KA-52 Alligator attack helicopters during a battle for Gostomel Air Base. Fifth helicopter (pictured) was forced to make an emergency landing in the field under heavy fire
An image taken near Kiev shows the remains of a downed Russian attacking helicopter with a soldier parachuting from it (left of the frame)
Helicopters
Ukrainian forces say they fired up to four Russian attackers at the KA-52 Alligator helicopter during a battle for Gostomel Air Base. A fifth helicopter was forced to make an emergency landing in the field under heavy fire.
Just after noon on Thursday, the skies over Kiev were crowded with a squadron of 20 Russian helicopters that hit the runway of the air base.
But Ukrainian ground forces began a resistance, retreating to reclaim the airfield as jets stormed the city, shooting down Russian helicopters.
The attack highlighted how close the invaders were to the capital. Soon after, the distant roar of fighters high above the city caused a new wave of panic.
Ukrainian forces also claim to have shot down six Russian planes in the skies over the Eastern Donbass, while another plane appears to have fallen from the sky near the capital.
A Russian helicopter is shot down somewhere above Kiev (left) as the wreckage of what looks like an airplane falls from the sky near the capital (right)
Five helicopters were shot down or destroyed in the Gostomel area, including one that was forced to make an emergency landing under heavy fire after Ukrainian forces recaptured the airport.
tanks
Ukrainian forces destroyed dozens of Russian tanks along the eastern and northern borders today.
Ukrainian forces put up fierce resistance around Kharkiv, where many Russian tanks and armored vehicles were depicted destroyed – with bodies lying in the streets.
Later this morning, another BMP combat vehicle was captured, along with a crew of four Russian soldiers, in the same region of eastern Ukraine.
And around 14:00 local time (12:00 GMT), the Ukrainian military said troops destroyed five armored vehicles and a car during fighting at the Vystupovich-Rudnya border checkpoint between Ukraine and Belarus.
Another 15 T-72 tanks were destroyed or damaged by Ukrainian forces with the help of Javelin PTRK, an American anti-tank missile, near Glukhov in the eastern part of the country late this afternoon.
A BMP combat vehicle was captured, along with four Russian soldiers, during fighting near Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine this morning.
Troops
At least 80 Russian soldiers have been captured by Ukrainian forces, officials said today.
Two believed to be Rafik Rakhmankulov, 19, and Mgomd Mgomdov, 26, from Kizilyurt, were captured along with a cache of weapons and knives during fighting near Kharkov in eastern Ukraine.
Four more Russian soldiers, the crew of a BMP combat vehicle, were captured by Ukrainian forces near Luhansk this morning. They were depicted lying face down with jackets over their heads after being captured by Kiev troops.
Another 74 Russian soldiers were captured after surrendering to Ukrainian soldiers, the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces said with a photo of a man with a bandaged arm and a bloody uniform that appeared to read “Russian Army.”
Estimates of the dead and wounded are almost non-existent in the early afternoon, but a Ukrainian official estimated the death toll at around 50 in Russia.
Another 74 Russian soldiers were captured after surrendering to Ukrainian soldiers, the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces said with a photo of a man with a bandaged arm and a bloody uniform that appeared to read “Russian Army”.
Two Russian soldiers – believed to be Rafik Rakhmankulov, 19 (left) and Mgomd Mgomdov, 26, from Kizilyurt (right) – were captured by Ukrainian forces in the east of the country.
Weapons and knives seized from two Russian soldiers captured by Ukrainian troops fighting around Kharkiv
The crew of a Russian BMP war machine is seen face down with jackets on (left) after being captured by Ukrainian forces (their machine is pictured, right)