Two loud explosions were heard in central Kiev on Saturday morning, shortly before air raid sirens sounded in the Ukrainian capital, which is regularly attacked by Russian missiles, AFP reported.
“According to preliminary information, the air defense was effective against ballistic weapons. The alarm continues, stay in emergency shelters,” the city’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, said in Telegram.
“No casualties have been reported so far,” he later added.
Shortly before the two explosions, AFP journalists saw two lines of white smoke in the sky, likely left by two Ukrainian anti-aircraft missiles.
Air warning sirens then wailed in the capital, which was last hit by Russian attacks at the end of September.
Last winter, systematic attacks on Ukraine’s energy system regularly left thousands of homes without heating.
On Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country had deployed new air defense systems from its Western allies in anticipation of a new wave of Russian attacks on its energy infrastructure.