Powerful explosion rocks area close to railway station in Kyiv

A powerful explosion has been heard near the railway station in central Kyiv, an adviser to Ukraine’s interior ministry has said.

The country’s state railway company have since echoed the claim that a Russian airstrike hit an area near the station from which thousands are attempting to flee the conflict.

It follows reports from journalists on the ground in Kyiv that attest to hearing a loud blast in the city centre on the seventh day of the Russian invasion.

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One witness also told Reuters they heard a huge blast that made the earth shake in Ukraine’s capital.

It comes as a motion urging Russia to halt its offensive and withdraw its troops from Ukraine immediately was backed during an emergency meeting of the UN security council on Wednesday.

A woman is seen near a Ukraine's railway administration building damaged by recent shelling in Kyiv. Reuters

Just five countries — including Russia, Belarus, North Korea, Syria and Eritrea — voted against the motion. Meanwhile, 141 voted in favour of bringing an end to the invasion, while 35 abstained.

The blast claimed to have been heard near Kyiv’s central railway station could leave parts of the capital without heating, an adviser to Ukraine’s interior ministry has said.

Putin’s troops appear to be using increasingly aggressive tactics in targeting the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, a senior White House official has said.

It comes after Washington and Ukraine disputed Russia’s claims it has seized the provincial capital of Kherson.

 “We’ve observed, certainly as you have all observed, an increase in missiles and artillery that (is) targeting the city and this (increasing) aggressiveness in terms of just the iron that they’re lobbing into the city,” the official said.

US to boost sanctions on Russia

The White House will impose additional sanctions on Russia and Belarus in light of the war in Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gestures at a press conference. File photo

In a statement realised on Wednesday, a spokesperson said: “The United States will take action to hold Belarus accountable for enabling Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, weaken the Russian defence sector and its military power for years to come, target Russia’s most important sources of wealth, and ban Russian airlines from US airspace.”

More than 7,000 Russian servicemen killed since start of invasion, Kyiv claims

More than 7,000 Russian soldiers have been killed since Putin launched his military offensive in Ukraine, a military adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy  has claimed.

During a televised briefing, adviser Oleksiy Arestovich also said that a Russian army commander was taken to Belarus after being severely wounded.

The Ukrainian figures are poles apart from those reported by Russia’s defence ministry, who earlier claimed 498 had died and another 1,597 had been wounded.

The Independent