KYIV, Ukraine — The mayor of Kyiv reported multiple explosions within the Ukrainian capital on Wednesday, the primary such time in weeks during Russia’s ongoing war against the country.
Vitali Klitschko wrote in a post on Telegram that there have been explosions in a central district of the capital that’s home to many government agencies and buildings. He said municipal teams were in place and more details were expected.
The reported blasts come as Ukraine has faced a barrage of Russian air strikes across the country, largely targeting infrastructure, in recent weeks in addition to continued fighting along the front lines within the eastern and southern regions.
It was not immediately clear what the targets were, or whether civilian, administrative or military sites were the aim.
U.S. officials said Tuesday the USA was poised to approve sending a Patriot missile battery to Ukraine, agreeing to an urgent request from Ukrainian leaders desperate for more robust weapons to shoot down incoming Russian missiles.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pressed Western leaders as recently as Monday to offer more advanced weapons to assist his country in its war with Russia. The Patriot could be essentially the most advanced surface-to-air missile system the West has provided to Ukraine to assist repel Russian aerial attacks within the war between the countries that erupted with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24.
U.S. officials also said last week that Moscow has been seeking to Iran to resupply the Russian military with drones and surface-to-surface missiles.
Ukrainian authorities said that through the latest round of volleys on Dec. 5, greater than 60 of 70 strikes were intercepted by air defense systems. Klitschko said Ukrainian forces shot down 10 self-explosive drones over Kyiv and the region Wednesday.
