Ukraine: Two explosions heard near Kyiv's Druzhby Narodiv metro station

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Two explosions were heard near Kyiv's Druzhby Narodiv metro station on Wednesday (local time), according to The Kyiv independent, a Ukraine media outlet.

"A third and fourth explosion has now been heard near Kyiv's Druzhby Narodiv metro station. Air raid alerts in Kyiv. Residents must go immediately to the nearest shelter," The Kyiv Independent reported.

The Ukraine media outlet also reported that Air raid alerts have been issued in Kyiv and Kyiv Oblast, Mykolaiv, Lviv, Zhytomyr and other areas.

"Air raid alerts in Kyiv and Kyiv Oblast, Mykolaiv, Lviv, Zhytomyr, Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernihiv and Chernihiv Oblast, Volyn Oblast, Cherkasy Oblast, Kirovohrad Oblast, Poltava Oblast, Khmelnytskyi Oblast, Zaporizhzhia and Odesa. Residents must go to the nearest shelter," The Kyiv Independent reported.

Meanwhile, Russian troops have seized the strategically important city of Kherson in Ukraine, The New York Times reported citing Ukrainian officials as saying.

"The city is surrounded," Kherson mayor Igor Kolykhaev said, according to The Kyiv independent, a Ukraine media outlet.

Russian forces launched military operations in Ukraine on February 24, three days after Moscow recognized Ukraine's breakaway regions - Donetsk and Luhansk - as independent entities. Several countries including the UK, the US, Canada, and the European Union have condemned Russia's military operations in Ukraine and imposed sanctions on Moscow. These countries have also promised Ukraine to help with military aid to fight Russia.

The US, Canada and European allies agreed to remove key Russian banks from the interbank messaging system, SWIFT which means Russian banks won't be able to communicate securely with banks beyond Russia's borders. President Putin has also signed a decree on special economic measures against the US and its allies.

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