Ukraine sounded alarm bells across the country on Thursday after Russia launched a wave of missile and drone strikes, authorities said.
Air sirens were also heard in the country’s capital city, Kyiv, where anti-missile defense systems successfully shot down 15 targets.
There were no immediate reports of injuries.
Ukrainian military general Serhii Popko said missiles were fired “in the direction of Kyiv” but did not say whether Russia intended to target government buildings or something else.
A person walks past a sign reading “to Moscow” attached to an old tank on display at a war museum in Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, January 25, 2023.
(AP Photo/Daniel Cole)
UKRAINE-RUSSIA WAR: GERMANY AGREES TO SEND 2 LEOPARD 2 TANK BATTALIONS AFTER HEAVY PRESSURE
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko similarly said explosions were heard in Kyiv’s Dniprovskyi district, on the eastern side of a river that bisects the city.
Photos from Kyiv showed residents huddled in the metro system.
The attacks come as Ukrainian military officers are set to be trained to use Western tanks.
Germany and the United States announced Wednesday that they would send advanced battle tanks to Ukraine and train Ukrainian troops to use them in an effort to help Kyiv make progress in combat stalemates as the Russian invasion nears its mark. one year old
Training will begin in a few days, Germany’s defense minister said.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said Ukrainian troops will first learn how to operate German-made Leopard 2 tanks at a training site in Germany later this month.
People gather at a metro station being used as a bomb shelter during a rocket attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, January 26, 2023.
(AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
US MAY DELIVERY ‘SIGNIFICANT NUMBER’ OF ABRAMS TANKS TO UKRAINE DESPITE PENTAGON DOUBTS
People gather at a metro station being used as a bomb shelter during a rocket attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, January 26, 2023.
(AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
Ukraine’s Defense Ministry took to Twitter on Wednesday to celebrate the start of training.
“Free at last,” the department tweeted with a photo of a leopard. “He comes to Ukraine to do the job. Our lands will be liberated!”
The tanks are expected to arrive in Ukraine before the end of March, Pistorius said.
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Germany will initially send 14 Leopard 2 tanks, although it could send up to 88 tanks to Ukraine. The United States will send more than 30 M1 Abrams tanks, the Pentagon has announced.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
