MOSCOW, July 7. /TASS/. Explosions were heard in the Kiev Region that surrounds the Ukrainian capital early on Friday, Ukraine’s TSN television reported.

Traditionally, the authorities attribute these sounds to air defense systems.

Earlier in the day, Ukrainian media said several explosions were heard in the southern regions of Odessa and Nikolayev. As of 2:00 a.m. Moscow time, an air raid alert has been declared in the regions of Kiev, Kirovograd, Nikolayev and Cherkassy, well as in Kiev-controlled areas of the Donetsk People’s Republic and the regions of Zaporozhye and Kherson.