Missiles pound Ukraine capital ahead of Russian invasion anniversary

KYIV, February 23 ------ Explosions rocked Kyiv before dawn after officials warned of a ballistic missile attack, just two days before the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion.

Agence France-Presse (AFP) journalists in the capital heard a series of loud blasts beginning around 4:00 a.m., shortly after an air raid alert was issued. “The enemy is attacking the capital with ballistic weapons,” the head of Kyiv’s military administration, Tymur Tkachenko, said on Telegram, urging people to remain in shelters. The Air Force later extended the alert nationwide, warning of a broader missile threat.

Kyiv, regularly targeted by Russian missile and drone attacks since the start of the invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, has faced waves of overnight strikes in recent weeks as Moscow has intensified its winter assaults on energy and military infrastructure.

Temperatures had plunged to nearly minus 10 C when the capital was struck again, with emergency services deployed across the city. Tkachenko later said the attacks had caused a fire on the roof of a residential building. The strikes also prompted heightened vigilance across Ukraine’s western border.

Poland’s Operational Command said early Sunday it was scrambling jets after detecting “long-range aviation of the Russian Federation conducting strikes on the territory of Ukraine.” It also came hours after blasts in Lviv, a western city near the Polish border that rarely sees deadly attacks. Explosions ripped through a central shopping street around 12:30 a.m., killing a policewoman and injuring 15 people after officers responded to a reported break-in. “This is clearly an act of terrorism,” Mayor Andriy Sadovyi said, offering no details on the perpetrators.

Source: manilatimes.net