Large explosions heard in Kyiv early Friday morning after Russia launched an attack on Ukraine
- Explosions were heard in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, early Friday morning, CNN reports.
- The number of people injured and extent of the damage wasn't clear.
Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, was awakened by explosions in the early hours of Friday morning local time, CNN reported.
"Strikes on Kyiv with cruise or ballistic missiles continued," Anton Gerashchenko, an advisor to the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Ukraine, told CNN.
The outlet said its reporters had heard two blasts in central Kyiv and another explosion in the distance.
It wasn't immediately clear how many people had been injured or how much damage the city had sustained.
Social-media users in Kyiv posted videos showing the sky lit up with explosions.
One user showed that what appeared to be an apartment building had been set ablaze.
The mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, reported that the building fire injured three people — one of whom was said to be in critical condition.
The Biden administration told House lawmakers during a Thursday briefing that it believed Russian forces were intending to surround Kyiv — home to 3 million people — before capturing it, CNN reported.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday called himself Russia's "No. 1 target" but said, "I stay in the capital, I stay with my people."
"They want to destroy Ukraine politically by destroying the head of state," Zelensky added. "We also have information that enemy sabotage groups have entered Kyiv. That's why I am asking Kyivites very much: Be careful, follow the rules of curfew."
On Thursday, some Ukrainians took refuge in the subways for safety from attacks.
Russian forces invaded Ukraine on Thursday in what Russian President Vladimir Putin called a "special military operation" — essentially declaring war on the country early Thursday morning. Ukraine says more than 100 Ukrainians have been killed in the conflict so far.
The United Nations estimated Thursday evening that more than 100,000 people had been displaced within Ukraine.
Former and current Ukrainian diplomats condemned the Russian attacks, comparing them to World War II.
"Russia, the sin is on you. Shame is indelible," Olexander Scherba, Ukraine's former ambassador to Austria, tweeted. "They say that you will bomb Kiev at 4 o'clock in Kiev. Well, you are true to tradition. Hitler was bombing at the same time."
Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine's minister of foreign affairs, urged the West to "sever all ties" with Russia.
"Horrific Russian rocket strikes on Kyiv," Kuleba said on Twitter. "Last time our capital experienced anything like this was in 1941 when it was attacked by Nazi Germany. Ukraine defeated that evil and will defeat this one. Stop Putin. Isolate Russia."
Mykhailo Podoliak, an advisor to Zelensky, argued, "Just like in 1941, now the attacker can only get the hatred of the people and nothing more," according to The Kyiv Independent.