This is the first missile attack on Kiev by Russia in the new year. The attack comes as Russia claims it has taken control of the salt-mining town of Soledar in eastern Ukraine.
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A new series of explosions by Russia has started in the Ukrainian capital Kiev yesterday morning. A few minutes after these blasts, air raid sirens started ringing across the city. Kyrillo Tymoshenko, the deputy head of Ukraine’s presidential office, said in a message on Telegram that key civilian structures were hit again in Kyiv.
According to the military administration in the city, the target of the attacks was an area where emergency services were already working. Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klichko said explosions were heard in the Dnipro district. Kluchko also said that fragments of the missile fell on a non-residential area on the right bank of the Holusevsky district and a building caught fire there, but there were no reports of casualties so far.
It was not immediately clear whether multiple civilian facilities in Kiev were targeted or just one. This is the first missile attack on the Ukrainian capital since the beginning of the new year.
A spokesman for the Ukrainian presidential office said the attack targeted a residential building in the village of Kopylyug, a suburb of Kiev, which also shattered windows in other nearby residential buildings. “Roofs and windows have been destroyed, but there are no casualties so far,” regional governor Oleksiy Koliba said in a Telegram post.
Earlier, two Russian missiles hit Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city. Kharkiv Governor Oleg Sengobo says Russian forces have fired two S-300 missiles at the industrial district of Kharkiv. “The area’s energy and industrial facilities have been targeted,” he said.
The attacks by Russia come at a time when conflicting reports are emerging about the salt mining town of Soledar in eastern Ukraine. Russia claims that its forces have captured the town. It’s a development that would mark a rare victory for the Kremlin after several setbacks on the battlefield.
The British government has announced to provide battle tanks to Ukraine in the war against Russia. British Prime Minister Rishi Sonic has also assured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of additional artillery support by telephone. Earlier, the European country France also announced to supply tanks to Ukraine. So far, Germany has refused to supply Ukraine with heavy weapons such as tanks. On the other hand, the Ukrainian president called this decision of France and Great Britain as ideal and asked other European countries to follow them.
The Ankara government has said that neither Moscow nor the Kiev government can win the ongoing war in Ukraine. However, the Turkish government has said it is ready to insist on a “local ceasefire”. A few days ago, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan asked his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin over the phone to unilaterally declare a ceasefire. Turkey is a member of NATO, but unlike other European countries, it has friendly relations with Russia. Turkey also played an important role as a mediator in the wheat export agreement from Ukraine.
