People across Ukraine have been told to take cover as air raid sirens blare across the country and explosions are reported in the capital.
At least 10 explosions were reported in Kyiv – the city’s mayor, Vitaliy Klitschko, said via his Telegram account: “One of the explosions took place between residential buildings in the capital’s Solominsk district.”
He added: “There were also explosions in Pacharsk district and Holosevsk district. There is destruction there. Rescue workers and medical personnel are chasing those places.”
He later added that at least one person was killed – and several others were injured.
The reports come in a series. Russian Thursday witnessed the heaviest air bombardment of the war in recent days, according to Ukrainian officials.
A presidential aide in the capital said a hotel was among the buildings destroyed in the latest barrage.
The governor of the region surrounding Kyiv had warned earlier of a possible missile attack, and that air defenses were targeting targets in the area.
Putin is moving to justify the war to the Russians.
The latest violence came as Vladimir Putin used a New Year’s broadcast to reiterate to Russians that his country was committed to protecting its “motherland” in Ukraine and securing the “true freedom” of its people. fighting for
Vladimir Putin’s New Year’s messages are traditionally limited to expressions of goodwill for the coming year. File photo
In a nine-minute message – the longest New Year’s address of his two decades in office – the president accused the West of lying to Russia and urged Moscow to launch a “special military operation” in Ukraine. Is.
“For years, Western elites hypocritically assured us of their peaceful intentions,” he said.
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“In fact, they were in every possible way encouraging the neo-Nazis who committed open terror against civilians in Donbas”.
He added: “The West lied about peace, it was preparing for aggression… and now it is using Ukraine and its people to weaken and divide Russia.
“We have never allowed this and will never allow anyone to do this to us,” state news agencies quoted Putin as saying.
The West and Ukraine have rejected Moscow’s claims that the conflict started, saying Putin launched an unprovoked war of aggression to seize territory and topple Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
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