Push Admin

Ukraine says it shot down Russian balloons

Article (news)

Agence France-Presse

<p>KYIV - Ukraine said Wednesday its aerial defense units had detected half a dozen balloons, apparently launched by Russia, over the capital Kyiv and shot most of them down.</p><p>Kyiv authorities said the balloons could carry reconnaissance equipment and were launched to &quot;detect and exhaust our air defense forces.&quot;</p><p>&quot;Most of the probes have been shot down,&quot; the city administration said in a statement, adding authorities would carefully examine the debris.</p><p>The presence of the balloons in the sky prompted sirens to go off in the Ukrainian capital, which usually happens when missiles are approaching.</p><p>Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ignat said that Russia uses balloons to exhaust Ukrainian anti-aircraft missiles.</p><p>&quot;The Russians will use all available methods of warfare to achieve their goals,&quot; he told AFP.</p><p>&quot;Therefore, it cannot be ruled out that these devices can conduct some kind of surveillance, so it is important to see what they are and understand them.&quot;</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/02/15/23/possible-war-crime-as-russia-holds-thousands-of-children-us-report">Possible war crime as Russia holds thousands of children: US report</a></li></ul><p>Since the start of the Russian invasion last February, Ukrainian authorities have repeatedly reported Russian balloons drifting in the country&#x27;s airspace. </p><p>On Tuesday, neighboring <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/02/10/23/russia-acting-to-destabilize-moldova-spy-agency" target="_blank">Moldova</a> temporarily closed its airspace due to the presence of a flying object resembling a weather balloon amid heightened tensions with Moscow. </p><p>The United States has been in a state of alarm since a <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/spotlight/02/13/23/what-we-know-about-mysterious-objects-downed-by-us" target="_blank">huge white balloo</a>n from China was spotted tracking over a series of top-secret nuclear weapons sites, before being shot down off the east coast in early February.</p><div> </div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XUTIZVVZcAA?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

Kyiv authorities said the balloons could carry reconnaissance equipment and were launched to 'detect and exhaust our air defense forces.'