Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Air alert declared in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities as residents urged to get to bomb shelters

Residents are urged to get to bomb shelters as quickly as possible

Sravasti Dasgupta
Wednesday 09 March 2022 06:07 GMT
Comments
Ukrainian soldiers stand by with anti-aircraft weapons in Kyiv

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

An air alert has been declared in and around Kyiv with an imminent threat of a missile attack and residents have been urged to get to bomb shelters as quickly as possible.

In a statement on Telegram regional leader Oleksiy Kuleba said: “Kyiv region – air alert. Threat of a missile attack. Everyone immediately to shelters.”

In addition, an air raid alert has also been issued in Zhytomyr, and in Vasylkiv.

Meanwhile the city of Mariupol, which sits on the Azov Sea, remains surrounded by Russian soldiers for days, as the Russian invasion completes two weeks.

The air raid alert in Kyiv comes amid fierce fighting while Russian forces advances have been stopped in certain areas including around Kyiv.

Ukraine’s defence ministry officials said that the cities facing increased hostilities include Polesia and Volyn Oblast operational districts, as well as along the state border of Ukraine and in the settlements of Nizhyn, Vinnytsia and Trostyanets.

This map shows the extent of Russia’s attack on Ukraine
This map shows the extent of Russia’s attack on Ukraine (Press Association Images)

On Wednesday, Russia promised to allow five humanitarian corridors to be formed to let people flee major cities under attack by Vladimir Putin’s forces.

Head of the Russian National Defence Control Centre said these humanitarian corridors will lead out of Kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, and Mariupol.

Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky has urged NATO to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine and said that additional war planes are needed to protect its air space.

Late on Tuesday, the Pentagon rejected Poland’s of MiG-29 fighter jets for use by Ukraine and said that the behind the “rationale” behind the offer is not clear to the US.

The Independent has a proud history of campaigning for the rights of the most vulnerable, and we first ran our Refugees Welcome campaign during the war in Syria in 2015. Now, as we renew our campaign and launch this petition in the wake of the unfolding Ukrainian crisis, we are calling on the government to go further and faster to ensure help is delivered. To find out more about our Refugees Welcome campaign, click here. To sign the petition click here. If you would like to donate then please click here for our GoFundMe page.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in