Blasts heard in Kyiv as capital hunkers down ahead of expected onslaught

16 March 2022, 3:01 am

Edit

Explosions are being reported on the outskirts of Kyiv as the city braces for an expected Russian assault on Ukraine’s capital.

Air raid sirens have been going off in the city regularly. The blasts come as the city begins a planned 35-hour curfew.

Earlier, a senior US defense official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the Pentagon’s assessment, said that the Russians were using long-range fire to hit civilian targets inside Kyiv with increasing frequency but that their ground forces were making little to no progress around the country. The official said Russian troops were still about 15 kilometers (9 miles) from the center of the capital.

Air raid sirens are also heard in other cities, including Lviv in far western Ukraine.