“I just heard a big bang – I’ve never heard anything like it”: A CNN reporter hides behind cover while Kiev is hit by missile strikes
- Matthew Chance, a senior international correspondent, said he heard between seven and eight explosions shortly after 5 a.m. Thursday morning.
- The explosions were at a distance, not in the center of the Ukrainian capital Kiev
- Chance quickly put on his bulletproof vest and hat while continuing to report from a balcony in the Ukrainian capital
- The blasts came minutes after President Putin addressed the nation at 5:50 a.m.
A CNN a reporter in the Ukrainian capital Kiev reports of explosions in the early hours of Thursday morning.
“I just heard a big bang right here behind me. I’ve never heard anything like it.
Matthew Chance, a senior international correspondent, said he heard between seven and eight explosions.
Chance quickly put on his bulletproof vest and hat as he continued to report from a balcony in the Ukrainian capital.
CNN reporter in the Ukrainian capital Kiev reports of explosions in the early hours of Thursday morning
Chance didn’t want to take any chances and set out to put on his bulletproof vest and helmet
“There are big explosions. I can’t see them or explain what they are. but I will tell you that the United States has warned the Ukrainian authorities that there may be air and ground attacks throughout the country, including in the capital.
“I don’t know if this is happening now, but it is a remarkable coincidence that the explosions came just minutes after Putin delivered his speech,” Chance said.
“It simply came to our notice then. It was absolutely quiet. This is the first time. It must be more than a coincidence.
“I think it’s safe where I am. I have a bulletproof vest, ”Chance said before bending down to put on his protective gear.
Chance, located on a balcony in the Ukrainian capital, quickly put on his protective hats
Chance, who has been to the Ukrainian capital many times in recent years, said he had “never heard anything like it.”
He suggested that the explosions were heard in the Ukrainian capital, but still some distance from the center.
“It was so quiet in Ukraine tonight before these explosions,” Chance said.
The blasts came minutes after Putin said Russia would conduct a military operation in eastern Ukraine.
Chance told CNN that it is not clear what the goal is, but since it is the Ukrainian capital, the city would be an obvious goal.
About 300 miles to the east, in Kharkov, northeastern Ukraine, a steady stream of explosions was heard where another CNN reporter, Clarissa Ward, CNN’s chief international correspondent, was.
In a televised address early Thursday morning, Putin said the action was in response to threats coming from Ukraine.
He added that Russia had no intention of occupying Ukraine, but said that the Ukrainian “regime” was responsible for the bloodshed.
Putin also warned other countries that any attempt to interfere in Russia’s actions would lead to “consequences they have never seen.”
He accused the United States and its allies of ignoring Russia’s request to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO and offering Moscow security guarantees.
He said the Russian military operation was aimed at “demilitarizing” Ukraine, adding that all Ukrainian servicemen who lay down their weapons would be able to leave the war zone safely.
The announcement came shortly after airspace over the whole of Ukraine was closed to civil air traffic and at the same time as an extraordinary meeting of the UN Security Council.
On Wednesday night, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made an emotional televised address in Russian following the approval of a 30-day state of emergency that gave the government broad powers in the interests of national security.
“The people of Ukraine and the government of Ukraine want peace. But if we are attacked that threatens our freedom and the lives of our people, we will fight, “he said, rejecting Moscow’s claim that Ukraine was a threat to Russia.
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