Ukraine war: Kyiv mayor reports multiple explosions in centre of capital
The mayor of Kyiv reported multiple explosions in the Ukrainian capital on Wednesday, the first such time in weeks during Russia’s ongoing war against the country.
Vitali Klitschko wrote in a post on Telegram that there were explosions in a central district of the capital that is home to many government agencies and buildings. He said municipal teams were in place and more details were expected.
The emergency services' maps showed the capital and the region surrounding it were under air raid siren alerts for about 20 minutes before the blasts, Reuters reports, adding that the explosions were heard by its own witnesses.
Reports quoting the mayor say Ukraine’s Air Defence Forces shot down 10 self-explosive drones in the Kyiv region and over the capital on Wednesday.
Ukrainian authorities said that during the last round of attacks on December 5, more than 60 of 70 strikes were intercepted by air defence systems.
The reported blasts come as Ukraine has faced a barrage of Russian air strikes across the country, largely targeting infrastructure, in recent weeks as well as continued fighting along the front lines in the eastern and southern regions.
It was not immediately clear what the targets were, or whether civilian, administrative or military sites were the aim.
US officials said on Tuesday that the United States was poised to approve sending a Patriot missile battery to Ukraine, agreeing to an urgent request from Ukrainian leaders desperate for more robust weapons to shoot down incoming Russian missiles.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pressed Western leaders as recently as Monday to provide more advanced weapons to help his country in its war with Russia.
The Patriot would be the most advanced surface-to-air missile
Read more on euronews.com
