English teacher describes bombing in Ukrainian city of Kharkiv as Russian attacks launched

An English teacher living in Ukraine has described how he was woken up by the sound of shelling as Russia launched its offensive in the country.

Harry Lee is living in the city of Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine, where explosions have been heard on Thursday morning. Within hours the death toll had already reached 40 people, according to an adviser to Ukraine's president.

Mr Lee, originally from Cambridge, told Good Morning Britain he and his partner had been preparing for the situation for weeks as tensions between Russia and Ukraine mounted

"The bombing woke us up this morning at 5.10am - we weren't really sure what it was," he said, speaking from his car.

"[We thought] it could have been a truck or something but then we went to the balcony.

"We saw flashes in the background and you could hear - it wasn't like a loud bang - it was a distant rumble."

He said one of the explosions had shaken the building where he is staying with his partner and her mother.

Mr Lee said they had moved in with her in order to be able to flee quickly if the situation escalated further.

"We have packed things, we have suitcases packed," he said. "We keep the car with a full tank and we've got jerry cans.

"We are are now staying with my partner's mum so that if we did have to get out quickly it would be really convenient to jump in the car, chuck the suitcases in and we are on our way."

He said the situation had changed significantly in recent days and that people in Kharkiv were "now in a different mindset".

Images from the city show roads gridlocked as Ukrainians load their cars and attempt to move west, away from the conflict zone.

The attacks began overnight, with Russian President Vladimir Putin announcing it as a "military operation", claiming it was intended to protect civilians.

In a televised address, he said the action had come in response to threats coming from Ukraine.

Russia's military said it had targeted Ukrainian air bases and other military assets and had not targeted populated areas.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said in a tweet Russia had launched a "full-scale invasion" of Ukraine, adding the world "can and must stop Putin".