Russian military says first day of Ukraine invasion 'successful'

"All of the tasks assigned to the groups of troops of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation for the day were successfully completed," Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said.

Russia said Thursday that its military had achieved its goals set out for the first day of its invasion of Ukraine, after launching the attack despite warnings of sweeping Western sanctions.

Russia 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.

"All of the tasks assigned to the groups of troops of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation for the day were successfully completed," Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said.