Center Kyiv Several explosions occurred in the early hours of Wednesday morning, in the first reported occurrence in the Ukrainian capital in weeks.
The city’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, wrote in a post on Telegram that there were explosions in the central district of the capital, Shevchenkivsky, which houses several government agencies and buildings, and that 10 Iranian-made drones had been shot down. He said municipal teams are in place and expected to have more details.
The air raid siren sounded for the first time at 5.57am, but the first explosion – which could have been anti-aircraft fire – was reported to a Ukrainian Telegram channel at 6.08am.
The siren sounded at 0557, but the first explosion – which could have been anti-aircraft – was reported to one of the Ukrainian Telegram channels at 0608. And so 11 minutes. Recently, there has been a gap of at least 30 minutes between a warning and an explosion.
– Isobel Koshiw (@IKoshiw) December 14, 2022
Oleksiy Kuleba, governor of the Kyiv region, said that the air defense systems are working.
The UK ambassador said she was “moving away from the windows and hearing the explosions outside”.
Move away from windows and hear explosions outside. It’s an early start today for 🇷🇺 attacks on # Kyiv
– Melinda Simmons (@MelSimmonsFCDO) December 14, 2022
Ukraine has faced a barrage of Russian airstrikes across the country in recent weeks, largely targeting infrastructure.
US officials said Tuesday they are willing to agree to the delivery of a Patriot missile battery to Ukraine, agreeing to an urgent request from leaders desperate for more powerful weapons to shoot down incoming Russian missiles.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pressured Western leaders as recently as Monday to provide more advanced weapons to help his country in its war with Russia. The Patriot missiles will be the most advanced surface-to-air missile system ever given to Ukraine by the West.
US officials claim that Moscow has been looking to Iran to resupply the Russian military with drones and surface-to-surface missiles.
Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this story
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