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A very large explosion lights up the night sky southwest of Kyiv, according to CNN. According to the local There is talk of a newspaper large oil reservoir that has been blown up.

– The battle for the airport continues in Vasylkiv. Russian forces have just launched a rocket attack on an oil depot. A large fire has broken out, which can be seen even from Kyiv, says the head of the county authorities, Kuleba Oleksij in a statement.

After the explosion, a pulsating light could be observed on the horizon over Kyiv for several minutes.

– The fighting does not stop, so you can not start the firefighting work. The idea has been hit directly – we are threatened by a possible ecological disaster, Oleksij continues. They have managed to shut off the gas supply.

The city and the airport were exposed to heavy artillery fire, says Vasylkiv mayor Natalia Balasynovych in Kyiv county to the local newspaper Kyiv Independent.

– The enemy will destroy everything, but they will not succeed. Stand up, says Balasynovych.

It is a Russian rocket attack, reports the Ukrainian news agency Ukrinform, which quotes the Interior Ministry.

Kyiv: Close the windows

Videos show violent flames and a massive column of smoke in clear relief against the dark night sky.

Ukrainian authorities are asking the residents of Vasylkiv to close windows due to the toxic smoke that spreads from the fires.

A message on Kyiv city’s website at Facebook also urges everyone to close their windows thoroughly.

– Due to the fire in the oil storage, the air can be dangerous material.

Shortly after CNN reported the first explosion, a new explosion was reported in the same area, in the direction of the city’s second largest airport.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyj’s office reports that one of the explosions was in an oil depot near Zhuliany airport, which is about 40 kilometers from the capital, writes AP.

Bellingcat director Christo Grozev says large forces are on their way to Kyiv, while posting a video of the fire in the oil depot.

– Three columns of tanks, almost 500 in total, are on their way to the city from different directions. It’s going to be hell tonight, he writes Twitter.

Zhuliany Airport is one of two civilian airports near the capital of Ukraine. It is also the main airport for transportation in the country.

Earlier Friday, a block of flats near the airport was hit by missiles.

Reports of explosions in Kharkiv

On Saturday night, the plane alarms went off once again in Kyiv. They also do this in the cities of Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia.

In Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, there are also reports of explosions on Sunday night. according to local media a gas pipeline is on fire in the city, which is close to the border with Russia in the east. There have been heavy fighting here in recent days, but the city has so far not fallen to the invading force from Russia.

It is now feared that a Russian air strike is on the steps in Kyiv, without this being confirmed. However, Ukrainian authorities have asked residents of the capital to seek cover.

Since Saturday night, fierce fighting has been going on in several places in and around Ukraine’s capital.

So far so good 20 people killed and 71 injured after the fighting in the Ukrainian capital.

There have also been fighting in the cities of Mariupol, Kherson, Mykolaiv and Odessa in the south of the country. According to Ukrainian authorities, a total of at least 198 civilian Ukrainians, including three children, have so far lost their lives as a result of Russia’s invasion.

Russia continues the offensive

Ukrainian President Zelenskyj said on Saturday morning that Ukraine still controls Kyiv and important areas around the city. Mayor Vitaly Klitschko then claimed that there were no Russian soldiers inside the city center.

The Russian army has since been ordered to continue its offensive in Ukraine, as a result of Kyiv’s refusal to enter into talks in Belarus, claims Major General Igor Konashenkov.

“After the Ukrainian side rejected the negotiation process, all forces today were ordered to expand the offensive from all sides in accordance with the plans for the operation,” he said in a statement.

Ukraine, however, denies that it has refused to negotiate with Russia. To Sky News, an adviser from the Ukrainian presidential office says that they want to participate in negotiations, but that they will not accept the ultimatum.

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