A massive explosion rocked Ukraine’s capital city of Kyiv during the early morning hours on Friday as numerous videos posted to social media showed a large fire ball falling onto the city.
“Ukrainian Interior Ministry adviser Anton [Gerashchenko] shared this video purportedly showing air defense systems take out a Russian aircraft over Kyiv’s Darnitsky region moments ago,” BuzzFeed News reporter Christopher Miller tweeted. “Other explosions heard and reported around the capital.”
⚡️Ukrainian Interior Ministry adviser Anton Gerashenko shared this video purportedly showing air defense systems take out a Russian aircraft over Kyiv’s Darnitsky region moments ago. Other explosions heard and reported around the capital. pic.twitter.com/e9wL7ZckUQ
— Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) February 25, 2022
Whatever was shot down over Kyiv was pretty big pic.twitter.com/aV6a3VwPgX
— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) February 25, 2022
The New York Times verified the following video:
https://twitter.com/OSINT_Ukraine/status/1497045018766454987
“Videos verified by The Times showed a large explosion in the sky over the outskirts of southern Kyiv early on Friday morning,” the Times reported. “Witnesses filmed fiery debris falling over parts of the city. The videos appeared to show at least two surface-to-air missiles being fired from Kyiv before the explosion.”
However, CNN reported that “the explosion over Kyiv tonight was a Ukrainian SU-27 shot down by Russian anti-air battery in the city’s suburbs,” according to Politico reporter Paul McLeary.
CNN reporting now the explosion over Kyiv tonight was a Ukrainian SU-27 shot down by Russian anti-air battery in the city's suburbs. Ukraine has lost the skies over its capital. Grim.
— Paul McLeary (@paulmcleary) February 25, 2022
That makes far more sense. Note that Russia has deployed S-400 air defense systems in southern Belarus as well as Su-35S fighters, which both could have shot down aircraft over Kyiv, depending on where the S-400 have been deployed to. 2/
— Rob Lee (@RALee85) February 25, 2022
Of course, Ukrainian air defenses could have made a mistake and shot down their own fighter. There were numerous friendly fire incidents between ground-based air defense systems and aircraft during the 2nd Karabakh War and 2008 Russo-Georgia War. 4/
— Rob Lee (@RALee85) February 25, 2022
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