Putin addresses Russian nation

In a televised address to the Russian nation, President Vladimir Putin said he was acting after receiving a plea for assistance from the leaders of the Russian-backed separatist territories formed in eastern Ukraine in 2014.

Putin also described the "special military operation" as a response to a “question of life or death” that he said Russia was facing as a result of the eastward expansion of the Nato alliance - which Ukraine has aspired to join.

“This is that red line that I talked about multiple times,” saod Putin. “They have crossed it.”