On the evening of April 19, a bright flash lit up the sky of Kiev, after which residents heard an explosion. The military administration announced that a NASA space satellite fell to Earth. However, the US space agency has denied this information. According to other sources, a meteorite flew over the Ukrainian capital. Russian media has collected everything known about the incident.
A flash in the sky above Kiev was noticed around 10:00 p.m. local time. After that, a dull sound of explosion was heard, UNIAN reported. An outbreak was also observed in the Kiev region, including in Bucha, two explosions were heard by residents of Bila Tserkva, writes Strana.ua. In the images that appeared on the web, you can see how a flash of an object flying towards the ground for a second lit up the sky.
Authorities have launched an air raid.
“An aerial target was found in the sky. Air defense forces on alert. Stay hidden and respect the silence of information – do not film or publish anything on the network, ”warned the Kiev regional military administration in its telegram channel.
The head of the Ukrainian President’s office, Andrii Yermak, first wrote on his Telegram channel that the air defense had operated over Kiev, but quickly deleted the post and urged everyone to wait for information from the Air Force of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. .
Later, the head of the military administration of the city of Kiev, Sergei Popko, said that the epidemic was not the result of air defense, but, according to preliminary data, of the fall of a satellite from NASA.
“In Kiev, a bright glow of an aerial object was observed in the sky.
According to preliminary information, this phenomenon is the result of the fall of a NASA space satellite on Earth.
To avoid casualties from the debris falling to the ground, an air raid alert was announced. The air defense didn’t work,” Popko explained.
However, NASA spokesman Rob Margetta in a conversation with the BBC denied reports of the satellite’s downing. Earlier this week, the space agency announced that the RHESSI satellite, which observed solar flares from 2002 to 2018, will enter Earth’s atmosphere on April 19. But, according to Margetta, at the time of the outbreak over Kiev, the satellite was still in orbit..
Another version of the epidemic is the fall of a celestial body. It was offered by the Ukrainian Air Force.
“According to preliminary information, outbreaks in the city of Kiev around 10:30 p.m. are associated with the fall of a satellite/meteorite (to be specified). At the moment there is no threat that the enemy will use means of air attack in this direction”, indicates the official communiqué of the Air Force, published on the night of April 20.
On the morning of April 20, the Ukrainian Space Agency’s Main Special Control Center reported that the outbreak was likely “associated with the entry of a cosmic body into the dense layers of the atmosphere.” Infrasound installations recorded a “high-energy acoustic event”, the estimated location of the epicenter of the explosion is in the Kiev region.
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