Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a military operation in Ukraine on Thursday.
Aris Messinis / AFP via Getty Images
- A group of seven people were seen kneeling and praying in the main square in Kharkiv, Ukraine.
- This was captured by a CNN news crew in Kharkiv hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a military operation in the country.
- Kharkiv came under attack just after dawn, with explosions seen in parts of the city.
A CNN news crew reporting out of Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Thursday spotted a group of seven people praying in the city’s main square hours after Russia’s assault on the country was announced.
The northeastern city of Kharkiv is just 25 miles from Russia’s border and was where some loud explosions were seen and heard earlier that morning. The blasts took place after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia would be conducting a military operation to “demilitarize” and “de-Nazify” Ukraine.
In the video, which is timestamped at 7.12 am (Ukraine time), a group of six people is seen gathered in a small circle. One remains standing while the others kneel close to each other. Thirty seconds later, a seventh person joins the group and kneels.
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CNN correspondent Clarissa Ward, who is in Kharkiv, said the scene “speaks to the desperation of this moment.”
“A small group of people have gathered in the main square and they are kneeling and praying,” she said in the video. “Because right now there is truly a sense of having no idea what is coming down the pipeline, what is in store for the people of Ukraine in the coming hours and the coming days. And it’s freezing cold here.”
“And to see these people kneeling on the cold stone in prayer is honestly — it’s very moving, Don,” Ward told CNN anchor Don Lemon. “And I think it speaks to the state of ordinary Ukrainians here, who have done absolutely nothing to deserve this, who have no quarrel with Russia.”
Explosions were also heard in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv early on Thursday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged his fellow citizens to stay calm even as Russia launches its attack, telling them to “stay at home.”
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