Second night of war in Ukraine.
The day after the start of Russia's invasion of the country located on the borders of the European Union, it was its capital, Kiev, which was targeted this time.
Explosions were heard there in the middle of the night, and the authorities denounced “horrible Russian missile fire”.
What happened ?
The first big explosions in the heart of Kiev were heard around 3 a.m. overnight from Thursday to Friday.
Many journalists present on the spot report loud detonations, and images taken in the capital showing a sky yellowed by fire.
Very impressive images of the sky of Kiev bombarded this night.
According to Western military sources cited by @lemondefr Russian troops are approaching the Ukrainian capital.
Military operation but also probably political objective: to overthrow the govt.
Zelensky pic.twitter.com/PIiH0aDdQD
— Sylvain Tronchet (@SylvainTronchet) February 25, 2022
Residential buildings were affected, and their inhabitants were taken care of by ambulances and Ukrainian rescuers.
Video of the wreckage, firefighter tackling the damage to the residential structure pic.twitter.com/589YLxWCnD
— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) February 25, 2022
Who is behind it?
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kouleba denounced “horrible Russian missile fire on Kiev”.
Vladimir Putin's armed forces moved very close to the Ukrainian capital from the first day of the invasion.
Thursday evening, several Western military sources indicated that the Kremlin's goal was clearly to take Kiev.
“We believe that, fundamentally, they intend to decapitate the government and install their own method of governance, which would explain this initial advance towards
(the capital)
”, in particular indicated a senior official of the American Department of Defense.
The governor of the region of Sumy, a city located in the northeast of Ukraine, declared that “(Russian) machines left from Sumy in the direction of Kiev, a lot of machines”.
They would thus now be positioned on the outskirts of Kiev.
What is the balance sheet?
According to an initial report communicated at dawn by the mayor of the capital, Vitali Klitschko, three people were injured, one of them seriously.
This number is very likely to increase over the hours, given the images taken on the spot and the fact that the offensive is probably only getting started.
It will be added to the 137 dead and 316 wounded on the Ukrainian side since the start of the offensive, communicated Thursday evening by the country's President Volodymyr Zelensky.
⚡️ за попередніми Даними, Троє поранених, Один з Них у Важкому стані, Внаслідок потрапляння уламків ракети у житловий будинок на вулиці Кошиця, 7-à.
Швидкі везуть людей у лікарні.
На місці працюють всі аварійно-рятувальні служби.
Будинок палає, є загроза руйнування.
pic.twitter.com/Cu0Wn4Tp6J
— Віталій Кличко (@Vitaliy_Klychko) February 25, 2022
What were the reactions?
“The last time our capital experienced something similar was in 1941 when it was attacked by Nazi Germany,” said Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kouleba.
All Western heads of state and government on Thursday denounced the Russian invasion of Ukraine and criticized Vladimir Putin, described as "dictator" by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves The Drian.
They have not yet reacted specifically to these high tensions in Kiev.
But when the sky of the Ukrainian capital was dazzled by the explosions, Emmanuel Macron warned, at the end of a European Council meeting urgently: “The tragic times of history are returning.
The war is here, on our soil.
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