Videos show huge traffic jams as people flee Kyiv after Russia attacked Ukraine’s capital as part of wider invasion

• Videos from Ukrainian capital Kyiv show huge traffic jams as people flee the city.
• Russia launched an attack on Ukraine early Thursday and blasts were heard in the capital. 
• Google Maps traffic data shows huge delays on roads heading west out of Kyiv.

Videos from around the Ukrainian capital Kyiv show roads backed up with seemingly endless traffic as citizens attempt to flee after Russia attacked Thursday.

Ukrainian MP Ivanna Klympush shared a video of the scene close to Kyiv with Insider’s Bill Bostock, showing the traffic heading away from the city as she was driving into the capital on Thursday morning. You can see the video below:

—Insider News (@InsiderNews) February 24, 2022

Another video, from German outlet DW news, shows long traffic lines heading west out of Kyiv.

—DW News (@dwnews) February 24, 2022

The video below, which does not have a timestamp, shows an aerial view of the traffic leaving Kyiv. It was posted by US news outlet The Recount. 

—The Recount (@therecount) February 24, 2022

According to Google Maps traffic data, several roads in the center of the capital have been closed, and traffic on the main roads out of the capital has ground close to a halt. Google traffic data shows delays of several hours on a number of main roads in the city.

Roads head out to the west of the capital, which lead towards Poland and other Western European countries, are particularly busy.

Poland, Slovakia, Romania, Hungary, and the Czech Republican have said they are preparing for potentially millions of Ukrainian refugees.

Earlier on Thursday, Russia launched an attack on Ukraine. Ukraine’s foreign ministry said Thursday this amounts to a “full-scale invasion,” saying that Russia was attacking multiple Ukrainian cities “from different directions.” Explosions were heard in the capital soon after the attack was announced.

The Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky urged people to stay in their homes, stating “the army is doing its work.”

He later tweeted that Ukraine would “give weapons to anyone who wants to defend the country. Be ready to support Ukraine in the squares of our cities.”