Air raid alerts sound across Ukraine, including capital Kyiv

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) – Air raid alerts have been activated across Ukraine, including the capital Kyiv, due to possible Russian attacks, officials said on Tuesday.

Warning of a strong possibility of Russian strikes, officials in eastern and southern Ukrainian regions urged citizens to take shelter.

Vitaliy Kim, governor of Mykolaiv, said in a Telegram post that “rockets are in the air.”

Mykolaiv is located next to Kherson, the region from where Russian forces withdrew last week, a retreat that Ukrainian President President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and leaders of several Western countries have hailed as a major victory.​​​​​​​

Ukrainian lawmaker Oleksiy Goncharenko said air raid sirens also blared in Kyiv, as well as several areas in central, northern, and western Ukraine.

There were no warnings reported in the Crimea region that Russia illegally annexed in 2014.

Air raid alerts are sounded in Ukraine almost on a daily basis due to possible missile and drone strikes, which have targeted the country’s civilian and energy infrastructure.