'Explosions' Reported Across Ukraine as Russia Orders 'Special Operation'

A series of explosions have been reported across Ukraine, with eyewitnesses saying blasts have occurred near a number of major cities as Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an order authorizing a "special military operation" in the Donbass region.

Speaking from a rooftop in central Kiev on Thursday morning, CNN reporter Matthew Chance said he heard “four or five explosions” erupt in the city, though stated “I can’t explain what they are.”

The report came moments after Putin announced the military operation on behalf of the newly recognized breakaway republics of Donetsk and Lugansk, where a military conflict has raged between separatist forces and the Ukrainian government for years.