Large explosions rock Kyiv after UN chief meets with Ukraine’s Zelenskyy

Two powerful explosions rocked central Kyiv on Thursday evening, shortly after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Two powerful explosions rocked central Kyiv on Thursday evening, shortly after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The explosions, which Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said took place in the Shevchenkivskyi district near the city centre at about 8 p.m. local time, sent large plumes of black smoke into the air.

The explosions could be heard across most of the city, but a wary Ukrainian population largely resisted calls to move to bomb shelters, continuing to sit at restaurants and go about their night as usual.

Roughly two hours after the initial strikes, at least two more explosions were heard in the capital.

The attack came shortly after Zelenskyy and Guterres held a press conference in which Guterres condemned the atrocities committed by Russian soldiers in towns such as Bucha, which he toured during the day.

Guterres also visited the devastated towns of Borodianka and Irpin, near Kyiv, and urged Russia “to accept to cooperate” with ongoing investigations into war crimes by the International Criminal Court (IRCC).

Guterres called the war “an absurdity” and posted a photo on Twitter of himself outside a destroyed residential building in an undisclosed location, with the caption: “War is evil.”