Missiles Hit Ukraine's Capital City During A Visit By UN Secretary General

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres (third right) visits the city of Irpin, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, outside Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday (28/4/2022), BETWEEN PHOTO/Reuters-Gleb Garanich/hp.

JAKARTA - Russia fired two guided missiles at the capital Kiev on Thursday, April 28 while United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was visiting Ukraine, Ukrainian officials said.

The rockets rocked a district in downtown Kiev and one of them hit a residential building, injuring at least three people, said Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko. Reuters witnesses reported that they heard the sound of two explosions, but the cause was not immediately clear.

Explosions on Thursday were heard shortly after Guterres finished talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The incident underscores concerns that Kiev remains vulnerable to heavy Russian weapons attacks.

"There was an attack in Kiev ... I was shocked, not because I was here but because Kiev is a holy city for both Ukrainians and Russians," Guterres told Portuguese broadcaster RTP, quoted by Antara, when asked about the explosion.

There was no immediate comment from Russia about the series of explosions, which Zelenskyy called "evidence that we must not lose our guard. We must not assume that the war is over." Guterres' talks with Zelenskyy focused, among other things, on evacuating Ukrainian fighters and civilians taking refuge. in a steel factory in Mariupol, a beleaguered city. The city in eastern Ukraine has become the main target of Russian raids in the Donbas region.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, has agreed in principle to the involvement of the United Nations and the Red Cross in the steel plant evacuation process.

The agreement surfaced in separate talks that Guterres had with Putin on Tuesday, April 26 in Moscow.

Ukrainian officials have expressed concern that Russia intends to arrest those still trapped at the plant, however, this has been denied by Moscow.

Russia in early April withdrew its troops from near Kiev after failing to capture the city. Since then, several high-ranking officials from the United States and allied countries in Europe have made visits to the city.