Ukraine-Russia war: Severe explosion in Kyiv

Severe explosions were reported in Shevchenkivskyi district during the early hours of Sunday.

According to  Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko the explosions were heard as air raid sirens were sounded, Ukrinform reported. The mayor said that ambulance crews and rescuers were already on the spot, and that residents of two apartment blocks were currently being rescued and evacuated.

Russia has been firing missiles across Ukraine and Ukraine's Air Command said that some of the missiles were fired from Russian long-range Tu-22 bombers deployed from Belarus for the first time, Associated Press reported. The bombardment preceded a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, during which Putin announced that Russia planned to supply Belarus with the Iskander-M missile system, AP reported.

AP quoting Ukraine officials reported that 30 Russian missiles were fired on the Zhytomyr region in central Ukraine on Saturday morning and all strikes were aimed at military targets. In the northwest, two missiles hit a service station and auto repair center in Sarny, killing three people and wounding four, the Rivne regional governor, Vitaliy Koval, said. In southern Ukraine along the Black Sea coast, nine missiles fired from Crimea hit the port city of Mykolaiv, the Ukrainian military said. In the north, about 20 missiles were fired from Belarus into the Chernihiv region, the military added.