Kiev residents woke up to the sound of two powerful explosions at dawn on Friday in the center of the Ukrainian capital, according to “AFP”.
An adviser to Ukraine’s Interior Minister Anton Herashchenko said that his country’s forces shot down an enemy plane over Kiev in the early hours of Friday morning, then crashed into an apartment building and caught fire.
Hirashenko wrote on the application “Telegram”, that a 9-storey apartment building caught fire.
Earlier, a series of explosions was heard in Kiev, which Hirashchenko said were the sounds of air defenses firing at the plane, “Reuters” reported.
Russia launched a large-scale attack on Ukraine on Thursday, and Kiev said the invasion caused dozens of deaths and hundreds of injuries.
The progress of the Russian forces raises fears of an escalation of attacks targeting Kiev and strategic and government facilities.
On Thursday night, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russian forces had infiltrated Kiev.
“We have received information about the entry of enemy sabotage groups into Kiev,” he added in a video message posted on the account of the Ukrainian presidency, calling on the population to be vigilant and to abide by the curfew.
On Thursday, the Ukrainian army announced the continuation of fighting to control the Gostomel military airport near Kiev.
The Chief of Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Valery Zalogny, announced that “the battles are taking place over the control of Gostomel airport” located a few kilometers northwest of Kiev.
The Antonov military airport in Gostomel was attacked by Russian forces, who arrived on board several helicopters, and confronted units of the Ukrainian army.