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Sorting fact, disinformation after Russian attack on Ukraine

Posted February 24, 2022 6:00 am

The Associated Press

Ukrainian military track burns at an air defence base in the aftermath of an apparent Russian strike in Mariupol, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. Russian troops have launched their anticipated attack on Ukraine. Big explosions were heard before dawn in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Odesa as world leaders decried the start of Russian invasion that could cause massive casualties and topple Ukraine's democratically elected government. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka) The Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) - Associated Press journalists are documenting military activity across Ukraine, where disinformation is spiking during a Russian ground and air offensive. With social media amplifying a torrent of military claims and counter-claims, determining exactly what is happening can difficult. Here's a look at some of what can be confirmed.

Activity with direct witnesses:

- Russian military vehicles crossing from Belarus into Ukraine at the Senkovka crossing point in the Chernihiv region

- Russian military vehicles crossing a bridge near Tavriysk and Novaya Kakhovka in the southern Kherson region, and Russian military helicopters flying over the area

- Security camera footage showing Russian military vehicles crossing from Crimea into government-held territory at Armyansk checkpoint

- Russian Ka-52 helicopter gunship in field near Kyiv after purportedly being forced to land.

- Russia-backed separatists on armored vehicles crossing a river in footage from the eastern Luhansk region, saying they seized territory from Ukrainian forces.

- Explosions around Kyiv, and their aftermath

- Helicopters flying over Kyiv, believed to be Russian

- Fire near the headquarters of the Ukrainian intelligence agency

- Explosions in Dnipro in eastern Ukraine

- Explosions near an airfield and bomb depot in Myrhorod in eastern Ukraine, including sounds of shelling.

- A residential neighborhood shelled in Mariupol, a strategic city on the Azov Sea near Russia's border. The mayor said three people were killed. An anti-aircraft base was also struck, and the mayor said the airport runway nearby was damaged.

- Fighting in Hostomel, a town 7 kilometers (4 miles) from Kyiv, and home to the Antonov aircraft maker and an airport with a runway long enough to receive all types of aircraft, including the biggest cargo planes. At least one home destroyed, according to footage obtained by AP.

- An exploded shell inside an apartment building in the eastern city of Kharkiv; a resident described the blast and said a neighbor was injured in the leg and taken away by an ambulance

- Just outside the separatist-held areas, in Bakhmut, military officers stationed on the road and crowds lining up at gas stations and banks to prepare to flee

- In Sievierodonetsk, families hiding in a bomb shelter after reports of two explosions

Announced by Ukrainian and Russian authorities:

- Russian forces seized the Chernobyl nuclear plant, site of the world's worst nuclear accident (Ukrainian presidential advisor)

- A military plane crashed in the Obukhiv region, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of downtown Kyiv. There were 14 people aboard, no determination of casualties. (Ukrainian emergencies ministry)

- The air bombing of an electrical plant in Tripilya, about 40 kms (25 miles) south of Kyiv, in roughly the same area where the Ukrainian military plane was reported to have crashed earlier (Ukrainian president's office)

- Russian military says it destroyed 83 Ukrainian military facilities and confirmed that its forces have moved into Ukraine from Crimea. (Russia's Defense Ministry)

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Follow AP's coverage of the Ukraine crisis at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

Smoke rise from an air defence base in the aftermath of an apparent Russian strike in Mariupol, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. Russian troops have launched their anticipated attack on Ukraine. Big explosions were heard before dawn in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Odesa as world leaders decried the start of Russian invasion that could cause massive casualties and topple Ukraine's democratically elected government. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka) The Associated Press

Smoke and flame rise near a military building after an apparent Russian strike in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. Russian troops have launched their anticipated attack on Ukraine. Big explosions were heard before dawn in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Odesa as world leaders decried the start of an Russian invasion that could cause massive casualties and topple Ukraine's democratically elected government. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) The Associated Press

Damaged radar arrays and other equipment is seen at Ukrainian military facility outside Mariupol, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. Russia has launched a barrage of air and missile strikes on Ukraine early Thursday and Ukrainian officials said that Russian troops have rolled into the country from the north, east and south. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits) The Associated Press

People stand next to fragments of military equipment on the street in the aftermath of an apparent Russian strike in Kharkiv in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. Russian troops have launched their anticipated attack on Ukraine. Big explosions were heard before dawn in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Odesa as world leaders decried the start of an Russian invasion that could cause massive casualties and topple Ukraine's democratically elected government. (AP Photo/Andrew Marienko ) The Associated Press

A man and woman stand next to fragments of military equipment on the street in the aftermath of an apparent Russian strike in Kharkiv in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. Russian troops have launched their anticipated attack on Ukraine. Big explosions were heard before dawn in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Odesa as world leaders decried the start of an Russian invasion that could cause massive casualties and topple Ukraine's democratically elected government. (AP Photo/Andrew Marienko) The Associated Press

Ukrainian National Guard, Armed Forces, special operations units exercise as they simulate a crisis situation in an urban settlement, in the abandoned city of Pripyat near the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, Ukraine, Friday, Feb.4, 2022. (AP Photo/Mykola Tymchenko) The Associated Press

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