Unidentified flash in the sky over Kyiv and a new drone attack: last night's highlights
There was a bright flash in the sky over Kyiv, which was attributed to either a satellite or a meteorite, and in the southeast, Russians attacked Ukraine with kamikaze drones. Here is what you may have missed from the previous night.
Flash in the sky over Kyiv
Around 10:00 p.m. on April 19, a bright glow of an aerial object was observed in the sky over Kyiv. After that, an air alert was declared in the capital and the region.
The Kyiv City Military Administration stated that, preliminarily, this phenomenon was the result of a NASA space satellite falling to Earth. They said the alert was announced to avoid casualties from debris falling to the ground.
However, a NASA spokesperson denied this claim. Some scientists suggest that it was a bolide (meteor).
EU to change its ambassador to Ukraine
The current Deputy Director-General for Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations at the European Commission, Katarina Mathernova, is to become the new EU ambassador to Ukraine following a planned rotation.
According to EU officials, this move is another signal of support for Ukraine on its path to membership in the bloc, and Mathernova's appointment could be key to promoting European interests in Ukraine by providing Kyiv with technical support and expertise.
Attack by drones
At midnight, the Air Force reported intense air defense activity in the southeast. Ukrainian defenders shot down 10 of 11 Russian Shahed-136/131 drones.
The air alert lasted almost 5 hours in Zaporizhzhia Oblast and 3 hours in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.
Sweden may join NATO by mid-summer
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has expressed hope that Turkey and Hungary's objections to Sweden's accession to NATO will be resolved by mid-summer this year.
“We're going to work hard to get this done before the summit,” Austin said, referring to a NATO meeting scheduled for July in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius.
Finnish city wants to become a NATO base
The city of Kaugava in northwestern Finland is proposing to host the country's first NATO base. The mayor justifies this by the availability of infrastructure and a good location. In particular, Kaugava has Finland's only military airport, which is located in the center of the Baltic region.
600 animal species are under threat of extinction
About 600 species of animals and 750 species of plants and fungi are under threat of extinction due to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Ministry of Environment has said.
According to the ministry, 35% of Europe's biodiversity is under threat. The consequences of Russia's actions are already being observed by residents of Bulgaria and Turkey, where massive dolphin deaths are being recorded.
Other news:
- The Ukrainian Embassy in Israel protests against a sambo championship featuring Russian and Belarusian athletes;
- Volodymyr Zelenskyy announces infrastructure projects in the region and the training of new border guard units following his trip to Volyn;
- Austria joins the demining effort in Ukraine, although it previously stated that it was “incompatible with neutrality”.
- The European Commission decided to sue Slovakia for discrimination against Roma children in schools;
- The court sentenced a woman who worked for Russians in Kharkiv Oblast to 9 years in prison;
- Rivne City Council demolished a stele depicting “Ukrainian and Russian women”. However, the decision was criticized online, saying that these were two Ukrainian women.
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