Explosions in the capital
Ukraine reports new Russian rocket attacks – also on Kyiv
smoke over Kyiv after the shelling in October last year,
© Efrem Lukatsky/AP/DPA
The Ukrainian authorities report the first major Russian missile attack on Kyiv since the turn of the year. According to Ukrainian sources, not only the capital is under fire.
According to officials from the capital Kyiv, Russia fired rockets at Ukraine again on Saturday. The metropolis itself and other regions, including Kharkiv and Zaporizhia, were affected. The president’s office in Kyiv called on people not to ignore the air alert and to seek protection. The sounds of explosions, which usually occur when Ukrainian anti-aircraft defense shoots down Russian missiles or drones, could be heard in the capital.
Apparently a house was also hit – no injuries
Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko announced that parts of a rocket had crashed in an uninhabited part of the city. No one was injured, it said. According to the presidential office, a residential building was also hit in the Kiev region, but there was initially no information about possible victims. It was the first major rocket attack since the turn of the year.
Since mid-October, Russia has launched numerous large-scale attacks, primarily on objects in the Ukrainian energy system. Due to the massive destruction of the infrastructure, there are power outages in many places, affecting millions of people. The Ukrainian government accuses Russia of “terror” – with the aim of plunging the country into darkness and cold. Kyiv has accused Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin of wanting to force people to flee in order to destabilize the situation in the EU through mass immigration.