3 months ago
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Explosions rocked Kyiv earlier dawn connected Sunday (February 22, 2026) aft officials warned of a ballistic rocket attack, conscionable 2 days earlier the fourth day of Russia's invasion.
AFP journalists successful the superior heard a bid of large blasts opening astir 4:00 americium (0200 GMT), soon aft an aerial raid alert was issued.
"The force is attacking the superior with ballistic weapons," the caput of Kyiv's subject medication Tymur Tkachenko said connected Telegram, urging radical to stay successful shelters.
The aerial unit aboriginal extended the alert nationwide, informing of a broader rocket threat.
Kyiv, regularly targeted by Russian rocket and drone attacks since the commencement of the penetration connected February 24, 2022, has faced waves of overnight strikes successful caller weeks arsenic Moscow has intensified its wintertime assaults connected vigor and subject infrastructure.
Temperatures had plunged to astir minus 10C erstwhile the superior was struck again, with exigency services deployed crossed the city.
Tkachenko aboriginal said the attacks had caused a occurrence connected the extortion of a residential building.
The strikes besides prompted heightened vigilance crossed Ukraine's occidental border.
Poland's Operational Command said aboriginal Sunday it was scrambling jets aft detecting "long scope aviation of the Russian federation conducting strikes connected the territory of Ukraine".
It besides came hours aft blasts successful Lviv, a occidental metropolis adjacent the Polish borderline that seldom sees deadly attacks.
Explosions ripped done a cardinal buying thoroughfare astir 12:30 americium (2230 GMT Saturday), sidesplitting a policewoman and injuring 15 radical aft officers responded to a reported break?in.
"This is intelligibly an enactment of terrorism," politician Andriy Sadovyi said, offering nary details connected perpetrators.
Such attacks acold from the beforehand enactment person go much predominant implicit the past 2 years.
Four years of war
Ukraine volition people 4 years since Russia's battle connected February 24, 2022, a withering warfare that has shattered towns, uprooted millions and killed ample numbers connected some sides.
Moscow occupies adjacent to a 5th of Ukrainian territory and continues to grind guardant successful places, particularly successful the eastbound Donbas region, contempt dense losses and repeated Ukrainian strikes connected logistics.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told AFP on Friday that Ukraine "is decidedly not losing" the warfare and that triumph remains the goal.
He said Ukrainian forces had clawed backmost astir 300 quadrate kilometres (116 quadrate miles) of territory successful caller antagonistic attacks, gains AFP could not instantly verify.
If confirmed, they would beryllium Kyiv's astir important advances since 2023.
Sweeping outages of Starlink net terminals crossed the Ukraine front, unopen down by proprietor Elon Musk pursuing a plea from Kyiv, person enabled the push, according to Mr. Zelenskyy.
The bombardment besides came amid a diplomatic propulsion by Washington to extremity the four-year war.
Ukrainian, Russian and U.S. Envoys person met respective times since January, but without a breakthrough.
Mr. Zelenskyy, nether mounting unit from Washington to see concessions, plans consultations with European leaders successful the coming days and wants deeper engagement from Middle Eastern states and Turkey.
