Russian missiles also blew up a gas pipeline in Kharkiv, Ukraine second-largest city
As Ukraine and Russia entered their third day of conflict, the United Nations announced 240 casualties. CNN reported that Russia dropped two bombs on Ukraine on Sunday morning.
As one detonation has been reported from an average of 20 kilometres from the city centre of Kyiv, the second detonation occurred in the southwestern part of Kyiv a little before 1 a.m.
Russian missile struck an oil terminal, setting it on fire in Vasylkiv, located southwest of Kyiv.
The Kyiv Post tweeted pictures of huge flames rising from the oil tank into the night sky and called it an “ecological catastrophe.” The mayor of Vasylkiv, Natalia Balasinovich, said, “The enemy wants to destroy everything.”
A radioactive waste disposal site near Kyiv under the State Specialized Enterprise “Radon” has also been hit by Russian airstrikes. The incident occurred at around 1:20 a.m on Sunday.
Ukraine’s nuclear agency has reported that the storage facilities have not been damaged. Further, there were no reports of a leak.
The nuclear agency confirmed that the public is not under any radioactive threat. The automated radiation monitoring system failed, but the radiation levels were normal by measurements taken in Kyiv.
On the other hand, Russian missiles have blown up a gas pipeline in Kharkiv, the second-largest city in Ukraine.
The State Service of Special Communication and Information Protection had issued a warning that the explosion could lead to an “environmental catastrophe” since it took the shape of a mushroom cloud.
Therefore, residents were advised to cover their windows with a damp cloth and keep themselves hydrated as much as possible.
However, the Telegram channel of the State Service of Special Communications and Information Protocol immediately corrected itself, confirming the explosion to not be a nuclear strike. Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine also reported heavy detonation in the wee hours of Sunday.
Russian troops have also entered Kharkiv, as reported by an interior ministry advisor, Anton Herashchenko, on Telegram. He posted several videos that showed military vehicles moving onto the streets of Kharkiv.
On the other hand, separatists in Luhansk, backed by Russia, have reported that a Ukrainian missile had struck an oil terminal in Rovenky.
On Thursday, the Russian President launched a “special military operation” in Ukraine on the alleged ground that “neo-Nazis” ruling Ukraine threatened Russia’s security.
In a video message posted by President Volodymyr Zelensky where he stands with Ukrainian citizens in the streets of Kyiv, he says,
“We have withstood and are successfully repelling enemy attacks. The fighting goes on.”
Ukraine and governments in the West have refuted this claim as baseless propaganda.
Edited by: Mahi Gupta
Published by: Vishakha Verma
