Kyiv once again under Russian fire. Missiles were fired at the Ukrainian capital on Friday and at least one explosion was heard there, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.
At the same time, the Ukrainian Air Force claims to have shot down six Kinjal hypersonic missiles, six Kalibr cruise missiles and two reconnaissance drones. The head of the kyiv military administration, Sergey Popko, said that all these shells were intercepted over the region of the capital.
“Message to Africa”
This new attack comes on the day of a visit by a delegation of African leaders. Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kouleba said Moscow was sending the message with these missiles to African mediators that it does not want peace. They are due to meet the Ukrainian president on Friday and his Russian counterpart on Saturday.
“Russian missiles are a message to Africa: Russia wants more war, not peace,” he wrote on Twitter.
Earlier, late in the morning in Kyiv, the mayor Vitali Klitschko had made an explosion in the Podil district. “Missiles are still flying towards kyiv,” he added, as air defenses were in action, authorities said.
“Stay in the shelters”
AFP journalists heard explosions but could not immediately say if there was any damage or casualties. All Ukraine was on anti-aircraft alert at noon.
“Threats from ballistic weapons in the Center, East and West, stay in the shelters,” the Ukrainian air force said on Telegram.
The delegation of African leaders for Ukraine mediation, including South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, was in and around Kyiv on Friday for a mediation mission, before traveling to Russia on Saturday.
The delegation was in Boutcha in the morning, the scene of a massacre of civilians attributed to the Russian army, and will then meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Source: BFM TV
