Live Update - Kiev rocked by explosion

An explosion hit Kiev on Saturday afternoon, the Ukrainian publication Strana reported.

In addition, Alexey Kuleba, chief of the Kiev regional military administration, said that the air defense weapons had been used in the region.

"The Kiev region. The air defenses are working," he wrote on his Telegram channel.

Air raid alerts are in effect throughout the country.

Earlier in the day, Ukraine reported explosions in the city of Dnepr as well as in the Vinnitsa, Odessa and Kharkov Regions. In particular, after the explosions, power outages were recorded in Kharkov and the city’s subway services were suspended.

The participants in the assault on Soledar managed to catch the Ukrainian troops by surprise, advancing from the north side. About how it was, RIA Novosti was told by a fighter of the Wagner group, who took part in the liberation of the city.

Later, Ukrainian media outlets reported explosions in Ivano-Frankovsk and Ternopol, as well as the operation of air defense crews in the Volyn Region.

UK to Send Up to 4 Apache Attack Helicopters to Ukraine - Reports

The United Kingdom will send up to four Apache attack helicopters to Ukraine as part of a military assistance package that also includes Challenger 2 tanks, a British newspaper reported, citing defense sources.

The delivery of helicopters would follow shipments of tanks to Ukraine, the newspaper stated, adding that the UK would also hope that other NATO states "will follow the suit."

British media reported that the helicopters are armed with Hellfire anti-tank missiles and could be of significant tactical importance on the battlefield. On Saturday, the UK government said that it would provide Ukraine with 14 Challenger 2 tanks in the coming weeks, as part of its goal to accelerate military support to Kiev.

Ukraine has flagged fears of an alleged anticipated Russian offensive in the spring, prompting its Western allies to commit to sending heavier weapons, including modern Western-made tanks, which were never part of earlier official arms aid packages.

Russian officials have repeatedly warned that any arms shipments on Ukrainian territory would be "legitimate targets" for Russian forces.

Video Shows Ukrainian Forces Prepping Chemical Weapons Attack, Russian Embassy Says

Russia’s Embassy to the UK said canisters seen being loaded onto drones by Ukrainian militants could contain phosgene, which is banned under the UN’s Chemical Weapons Convention.

Russian artillery crews strike the positions of the Ukrainian military in the Zaporozhye direction up to 25 times a day, said the commander of one of the artillery units of the Russian Armed Forces

Russia has condemned the Ukrainian military after a video surfaced which appears to show the Kiev regime’s forces loading drones with chemical weapons. “A video published by [the] Ukrainian military apparently shows them preparing to use chemical weapons… against [the] Russian military,” the Russian Embassy to the UK wrote Friday.

In the video, which appeared on social media earlier this week, soldiers can be seen giving a tour of what appears to be a chemical weapons facility and showing off refrigerated canisters filled with unknown substances.

The widely-shared video opens with a shot of an ammunition case bearing the letters “OB.”

According to the embassy, “(the) letters “OB” stand for toxic munition.”

The embassy speculated that the cans could contain phosgene, which it noted is prohibited by the Chemical Weapons Convention of the United Nations.

“This also explains why the gas cylinders need to be stored in the fridge,” they wrote.

A video published by Ukrainian military apparently shows them preparing to use #chemicalweapons, possibly #phosgene, prohibited by @UN CWC, against Russian military. Letters “OB” stand for toxic munition. This also explains why the gas cylinders need to be stored in the fridge. pic.twitter.com/eDmB43605g

— Russian Embassy, UK (@RussianEmbassy) January 13, 2023

In December, Russia announced that it had uncovered information that contractors from the US had arrived in Ukraine to help the Zelensky regime’s militant prepare “chemical provocations.”

“But the Americans dismiss all this” as “disinformation from the Russian side,” Russian Permanent Representative to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons Alexander Shulgin said.

Since Russia’s special military operation began in February, US authorities and media outlets have largely insisted that anyone referencing potential Ukrainian chemical weapons usage as a puppet of the Kremlin. But the mask has slipped on at least one occasion.

In March, Undersecretary of State Victoria Nuland acknowledged the Kiev regime maintained numerous “biological research facilities” and said the US was “quite concerned” that “Russian forces may be seeking to gain control” of them.

Security forces discovered a cache with weapons and ammunition of Ukrainian terrorists in the city of Dniprorudne, Zaporozhye region, RIA Novosti was told in the regional police department

Russian MoD briefing on the progress of the special military operation in Ukraine:

▪️The Russian Army eliminated two Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance groups in the Kharkov region;

▪️Russian troops eliminated two Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance groups in the DPR;

▪️Russian forces eliminated more than 30 Ukrainian servicemen in the Kupyansk direction;

▪️The Russian Army eliminated more than 30 Ukrainian servicemen in the South Donetsk direction;

▪️Russian forces eliminated more than 70 Ukrainian servicemen in the Donetsk direction;

▪️Russian air defense systems destroyed 4 Ukrainian UAVs and intercepted 7 HIMARS and Olkha rockets;

▪️Russian troops destroyed two Ukrainian ammunition depots in the DPR and Zaporozhye region;

▪️Russian forces destroyed an M777 artillery system, as well as an AN/TPQ-36 and an AN/TPQ-50 radar system in the Kharkov region.