Explosions have been heard in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, a day after Russia accused Ukraine of carrying out a drone attack on the Kremlin.
Attacks were also reported in Zaporizhzhia and Odesa in the south.
The air strikes come as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is due to speak at The Hague as part of an unexpected visit to the Netherlands.
He will also visit the International Criminal Court, which is investigating alleged Russian war crimes in Ukraine.
Russia has accused Ukraine of attempting to assassinate President Vladimir Putin, but Mr Zelensky denied that his country carried out the attack.
On Wednesday, he said: “We don’t attack Putin or Moscow. We fight on our territory. We are defending our villages and cities.”
Mr Zelensky was speaking in Finland, where he made a surprise visit and met his Finnish counterpart Sauli Niinisto and the leaders of Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland.
During his visit to the Netherlands, Mr Zelensky is expected to meet Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte. Dutch media said that the two were likely to discuss Mr Zelensky’s demands for more military support – namely long-range weapons and fighter jets.
Last January, Mr Rutte said that supplying fighter jets was not taboo, although such a move would be “a really big next step”.
Following the alleged drone attacks, Russia threatened to retaliate when and where it considered necessary.
On Wednesday, Russian strikes on Ukraine’s southern Kherson region killed 21 people. Officials said that the victims included supermarket customers and employees of an energy company who were performing repairs.
And in the early hours of Thursday morning, air raid sirens rang out across many Ukrainian regions. Loud blasts were reported in Kyiv and Odesa.
At the same time, a drone hit an oil refinery in southern Russia, setting part of it on fire – the latest in a series of explosions, fires and drone attacks that have occurred in Russia in recent weeks.
Some commentators have argued that the alleged drone strike on the Kremlin was internally conducted and purposefully staged by Russia.
The Institute for the Study of War said it is “extremely unlikely that two drones could have penetrated multiple layers of air defence and detonated or been shot down just over the heart of the Kremlin in a way that provided spectacular imagery caught nicely on camera”.
It said that “Russia likely staged this attack in an attempt to bring the war home to a Russian domestic audience and set conditions for a wider societal mobilisation”.
Yurii Ihnat, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force, said he thought Russia had staged the attack on the Kremlin to try to “show some kind of escalation on the part of Ukraine”.
But other commentators disagreed, saying that Russia would have little interest in making itself look “weak” by staging an attack that makes the Kremlin look vulnerable.
It would also lead to questions about how well-protected Mr Putin is – and about the effectiveness of Russian air defences.
Follow us on:
Elon Musk’s social media platform, X, has named Rachel de Oliveira Conceicao as its legal…
In a surprising turn during the Edo state governorship election, Olumide Akpata, the Labour Party…
The Governor of Ondo state, Mr. Lucky Aiyedatiwa, has vowed to transform the state into…
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced an extension of voting time in areas…
Usher paid tribute to the male role models in his life at the 2024 Black…
The EFCC has arrested three suspects for alleged vote buying during the ongoing Edo governorship…
View Comments
federal government of nigerian IMPOUNDED VEHICLES FOR SALE IN A CHEAP AND AFFORDABLE AUCTION PRICE INTERESTED BUYER SHOULD KINDLY CONTACT OFFICER MrsEze .
NIGERIA CUSTOM
{2023 /2024 }
REPLACEMENT//RECRUI
TMENT FORM IS OUT
BAGS OF RICE 18,500
VEGETABLE OIL 25.
LITTER 10,000
TOKUMBO VEHICLE FOR
SALE AT AUCTION PRICE
INTERESTED BUYER
SHOULD CONTACT
OFFICER MrsEzeON
[O7O 4540 6674]
CARS FEATURES AND
PRICE BELOW
GOLF 2,3,4,5 #350,000
TOYOTA CAMRY BIG
DADDY #550,000
TOYOTA CAMRY
TINYLIGH= #350,000
TOYOTA CAMRY
MUSCLE= #850,000
TOYOTA CAMRY
PENCILLIGHT=#400,000
TOYOTA COROLLA
le=#550,000
TOYOTA COROLLA
S=#750,000
TOYOTA
VENZA=#950,00 1.8m
TOYOTA Hilux 1.5 million
TOYOTA AVALON
#800,000
TOYOTA AVENSIS
#700,000
TOYOTA RAV4 800,000
TOYOTA SIENNA
#650,000
TOYOTA
4runner#850,000
TOYOTA TUNDRA 1.9m
TOYOTA PICNIC
#550,000
TOYOTA Highlander
#950,000
TOYOTA PADRO JEEP
1.6m
TOYOTA LAND
CRUISER=1.5m
TOYOTA YARIS #459,000
TOYOTA MATRIX
#650,000
TOYOTA HAICE BUS
#950,000
ACCURA ZDX 1.6m
ACCURA MDX 1.9m
HONDA PILOT #950,00
HONDA BABY BOY
#550,000
HONDA END OF
DISCUSSION
600,000
HONDA ACCORD
#450,000
Honda CR-V #850,000
INFINITY fx450 #750,000
to 1.4m
NISSAN MURANO
#650,00
LEXUS RX 350 #1.2m
LEXUS RS 330 # 1m
LEXUS RS 300 # 900,000
LEXUS RX 470 1.5m
All NEGOTIABLE WE
RENDER GOOD SERVICE
TO CUSTOMER ....{ E.T .C}
LOCATION AT OGUN
STATE IDIROKO BORDER WE
HAVE TWO OPTION
ELDER WE DELIVERY OR
YOU COME OVER IF WE
HAVE TO COME OVER WE
NEED THIS FROM YOU
{1} NATIONAL ID CARD
{2} BORDER PERMIT
{3} INSPECTION DOCUMENTS
{4} 2PASSPORT
THANKS FOR YOUR
PATRONAGE WE
DELIVER TO 36 STATE IN
NIGERIA AND ALSO
COME DOWN WITH THE
FULL PAYMENT CALL
FOR MORE
INFORMATION
{O7O 4540 6674 }