FALCON POWERS – Explosions rocked Kyiv on Monday morning, and a column of smoke rose over the center of the Ukrainian capital, in a rare daytime attack on the city.
Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said that shrapnel from the missiles intercepted by air defenses fell in two central city neighborhoods, and that rescue teams were on their way to the sites.
The Ukrainian Air Force said on Monday that Russian forces had launched multiple ballistic and cruise missiles at Ukrainian targets, with explosions heard across the capital Kyiv. The Air Force added that the daylight attack included hypersonic Kinzhal missiles, one of Russia’s most advanced weapons.
The Kinzhal missile flies at a speed of over 10 times the speed of sound, making it difficult to intercept. Kyiv city administration reported that debris, presumably from intercepted missiles, fell in the Solomianskyi, Dniprovsky and Holosiivsky neighborhoods of Kyiv, causing fires and smoke rising from several areas of the city.
Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said that ambulances were heading to the Solomianskyi area.
Local officials also reported explosions in the Dnipropetrovsk region in central Ukraine.