Ukraine war: Zelensky in The Hague as fresh blasts rock Kyiv

Explosions person been heard successful Kyiv and different Ukrainian cities, a time aft Russia accused Ukraine of carrying retired a drone onslaught connected the Kremlin.

Attacks were besides reported successful Zaporizhzhia and Odesa successful the south.

The aerial strikes travel arsenic Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is owed to talk astatine The Hague arsenic portion of an unexpected sojourn to the Netherlands.

He volition besides sojourn the International Criminal Court, which is investigating alleged Russian warfare crimes successful Ukraine.

Russia has accused Ukraine of attempting to assassinate President Vladimir Putin, but Mr Zelensky denied that his state carried retired the attack.

On Wednesday, helium said: "We don't onslaught Putin oregon Moscow. We combat connected our territory. We are defending our villages and cities."

Mr Zelensky was speaking successful Finland, wherever helium made a astonishment sojourn and met his Finnish counterpart Sauli Niinisto and the leaders of Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland.

During his sojourn to the Netherlands, Mr Zelensky is expected to conscionable Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte. Dutch media said that the 2 were apt to sermon Mr Zelensky's demands for much subject enactment - namely long-range weapons and combatant jets.

Last January, Mr Rutte said that supplying combatant jets was not taboo, though specified a determination would beryllium "a truly large adjacent step".

Following the alleged drone attacks, Russia threatened to retaliate erstwhile and wherever it considered necessary.

On Wednesday, Russian strikes connected Ukraine's confederate Kherson portion killed 21 people. Officials said that the victims included supermarket customers and employees of an vigor institution who were performing repairs.

And successful the aboriginal hours of Thursday morning, aerial raid sirens rang retired crossed galore Ukrainian regions. Loud blasts were reported successful Kyiv and Odesa.

At the aforesaid time, a drone deed an lipid refinery successful confederate Russia, mounting portion of it connected occurrence - the latest successful a bid of explosions, fires and drone attacks that person occurred successful Russia successful caller weeks.

Some commentators person argued that the alleged drone onslaught connected the Kremlin was internally conducted and purposefully staged by Russia.

The Institute for the Study of War said it is "extremely improbable that 2 drones could person penetrated aggregate layers of aerial defence and detonated oregon been changeable down conscionable implicit the bosom of the Kremlin successful a mode that provided spectacular imagery caught nicely connected camera".

It said that "Russia apt staged this onslaught successful an effort to bring the warfare location to a Russian home assemblage and acceptable conditions for a wider societal mobilisation".

Yurii Ihnat, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian Air Force, said helium thought Russia had staged the onslaught connected the Kremlin to effort to "show immoderate benignant of escalation connected the portion of Ukraine".

But different commentators disagreed, saying that Russia would person small involvement successful making itself look "weak" by staging an onslaught that makes the Kremlin look vulnerable.

It would besides pb to questions astir however well-protected Mr Putin is - and astir the effectiveness of Russian aerial defences.