Kyiv, Ukraine
CNN
—
Kyiv was rocked by several powerful explosions on Saturday morning, with officials in the Ukrainian capital reporting a missile attack on critical infrastructure facilities.
“There is an attack on the capital,” the Kyiv City Military Administration said Saturday.
Kyiv’s mayor, Vitaliy Klitschko, said the strikes had occurred on the city’s east bank, where there are several power facilities.
“Explosions in Dniprovskyi district. All services are heading to the scene. Stay in shelters!” Klitschko said on Telegram.
He added that debris from one incoming missile fell on a non-residential area in the city’s west bank (Holosiivskyi district) of the capital. “There were no casualties,” Klitschko said.
The exact locations of the blasts could not be immediately verified by CNN. A thick fog blankets much of the city.
The head of Kyiv region military administration, Oleksiy Kuleba, said explosions had been heard around 6 a.m. local time on Saturday.
“A fire broke out at a critical infrastructure facility. Response teams are on site. As of now, no casualties have been reported,” Kuleba wrote.
Two other Ukrainian cities also reported explosions early on Saturday.
Blasts were also heard in Zaporizhzhia in the southeast and Kharkiv in the northeast, officials said.
“The enemy is attacking Zaporizhzhia again. No detailed information yet on explosions or casualties,” Zaporizhzhia city council secretary Anatolii Kurtev wrote on Telegram.
In Ukraine’s northeast, the head of Kharkiv’s military administration urged residents to take shelter.
“Attention, residents of Kharkiv city and region. Remain sheltered. The occupiers are striking again!” Oleh Synehubov wrote on Telegram.
Kharkiv mayor Ihor Terekhov said Russia had fired four S-300 missiles, with two hitting the city.
However, Oleksandr Pavliuk, a Kyiv-based commander in the Ukrainian army, said the explosions in Kyiv were not caused by Russian attacks.
“The explosions are not connected with the threat from the air or air defense, as well as with any military actions,” Pavliuk wrote on Telegram.
“If there was a threat – you would have heard the alarm. The cause of the explosions will be reported separately.”
