Powerful explosions heard in Ukraine's capital

KYIV, Ukraine: Several powerful explosions rocked Kyiv on Saturday as authorities warned that the Ukrainian capital was under threat of missile attack.

“Explosions in the capital. Air defense forces are operating. Stay in shelters!” Kyiv’s mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram.

Ukraine’s air force also announced a countrywide air alert in the early hours of Saturday and said on social media that drones and missiles were moving over several Ukrainian regions, including the capital.

AFP journalists in Kyiv heard loud explosions at several loud explosions, some accompanied by bright flashes that lit the horizon orange.

Nearly three hours later, Kyiv’s regional military administration said that air defences had been activated due to the approach of a drone.

It comes as Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky is set to meet US President Donald Trump in Florida on Sunday to discuss a proposed plan to end the fighting that has killed tens of thousands since 2022.

Russia accused Zelensky and his EU backers on Friday of seeking to “torpedo” the US-brokered plan.

The latest plan is a 20-point proposal that would freeze the war on its current front line but open the door for Ukraine to pull back troops from the east, where demilitarised buffer zones could be created, according to details revealed by Zelensky this week.