At 5:07 a.m. local time on Thursday, CNN's Matthew Chance was live on the air from the rooftop patio of a hotel in Kyiv when he first reported the sound of explosions. At the moment, he told viewers that he didn't know what the blast was, so he put on a flak jacket and helmet. Ukrainian officials quickly confirmed that the Russian invasion had begun.
Chance told Deadline in an afternoon phone conversation that an attack was expected even earlier in the morning, based on intelligence from Ukrainian sources, "so we were all prepared, ready to go live, waiting for these air strikes to come." "The deadline had past, but the missiles began to fly within minutes, shockingly." I just stood there.
The Russians were assaulting airports and airbases on Kyiv's outskirts, possibly as a prelude to an attack on the city itself.
Although US officials have been warning of a Russian invasion for weeks, Chance, a senior international correspondent based in Moscow, said he was still surprised by President Vladimir Putin's speech announcing military action, which was quickly followed by the sounds of explosions in Kyiv and other cities.
"I was surprised when he said, in such a direct manner, that he was essentially going to war against Ukraine," Chance remarked. "And then the fact that the bombings began within minutes of that speech ending demonstrates how meticulously orchestrated the whole thing was.
"Up until last night, I sort of assumed Putin was a sensible actor," he added. In the end, I assumed he wouldn't go that far. That belief has remained in my perception of Putin throughout his Chechen wars, previous actions in Ukraine, and the poisoning and death of dissidents and opponents. Syria has been bombed. It was almost like a separate universe last night for me. Not only is Ukraine distinct from Russia, but Russia itself is distinct from Ukraine. Russia is now led by a man we don't understand."
Chance stated that they "had the idea that Ukraine officials were up until the very last second, frankly, sort of dismissing it," not completely thinking that Putin would leave.
CNN had rented the terrace nightclub bar area of a Kyiv hotel close to the foreign ministry building, which featured a panoramic view of the city. However, visibility was limited due to the foggy early morning, but the sound of the explosions, which were 15 to 20 miles away, was heard.
"We didn't realize they weren't going to hit right outside — as I mentioned, we were right next door to the foreign ministry," he explained. "You might have had a missile assault there, and there could still be airstrikes on those government sites in the next hours and days."
After the onslaught began, and with only three hours of sleep, Chance went out with his crew to one of the strike areas, a Ukrainian military airbase, on Thursday morning. Chance stated that they had heard that Russian troops had landed at the base, but that he had heard from Ukraine's deputy interior minister that the facility would be retaken.
According to Chance, as the CNN team drove to the site, they passed by the Ukrainian military stationed on the side of the road. They saw troops stopping automobiles a few miles later. Speaking in Russian, Chance asked someone he thought was a Ukrainian military official whether he could do a live shot, and the official consented after some convincing.
