Blasts heard in Kyiv, other parts of Ukraine

Air defences are at work and rescuers are on their way to possible blast sites, said city mayor

KYIV (Reuters) – Blasts could be heard in Kyiv after an air raid alert on Thursday morning, Reuters witnesses said, as authorities sent rescue teams to at least two locations in the Ukrainian capital.

Air defences are at work and rescuers are on their way to possible blast sites in the city's eastern and southern districts, city Mayor Vitali Klitschko wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

Missile debris fell in central Kyiv and non-residential buildings were damaged in the east, causing a fire, he said, with two people were hospitalised, including a child.

Officials and local media also reported blasts in Ukraine's Kharkiv, Khmelnytskiy, Rivne, Vinnytsia, Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk regions.

In the city of Rivne in western Ukraine, according to the Suspilne media outlet, a partial power blackout was reported, indicating the Russian attack could have targeted energy infrastructure.