War against Ukraine: Explosions in Kyiv, nationwide air alert

Russia has apparently launched another nationwide missile attack on Ukraine. Loud explosions can be heard in the capital Kyiv, and authorities are reporting attacks from several areas in the south and west.

According to military information from Kyiv, Russia is again covering Ukraine with rocket attacks. Air alerts went off across the country in the morning. After night drone strikes, the enemy is now attacking from different directions with missiles launched from air bombers and warships. There is a “high level of activity” by the occupiers, it said. Authorities urged people to seek shelter in bunkers as a matter of urgency.

In the capital Kyiv, several heavy explosions were heard in the center, like ARD-Correspondent Vassili Golod reported.

Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko spoke of several explosions without giving any details. He warned of possible power outages and urged people to charge their cell phones and stock up on water supplies.

Reports of attacks in many regions

Attacks were reported by authorities in other parts of Ukraine to the south and west. According to this, explosions were heard in several cities, which are said to come from air defense systems that would target incoming missiles. Explosions were reported from the regions of Poltava, Odessa, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv and Lviv.

Presidential Advisor Oleksiy Arestovych said on Facebook that Russian forces had fired more than 100 rockets in multiple attack waves. He warned against posting images of the explosions and impacts on social media, as this would allow conclusions to be drawn about the work of the Ukrainian air defense and could reveal their position. “When you do that, you correct the enemy’s fire.”

Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said they were investigating what exactly was hit and whether there were any casualties. Power outages were announced in Odessa and Dnipropetrovsk to minimize potential damage to energy infrastructure.

Russian military bloggers published numerous unverifiable videos of smoke plumes following suspected hits.

Attacks on infrastructure since October

These were the heaviest missile attacks since December 16, when Russia launched massive aerial bombardments and warships in the Black Sea. It was the tenth such wave since October. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had been warning of the threat of new attacks for days.

The new wave was expected before the end of the year. The Russian attacks involved dozens of missiles each. Some hit their targets, causing millions of people across the country to experience power outages during the winter.