Half a dozen balloons, apparently launched by Russia, were detected and shot down over the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv said on Wednesday.
The balloons could have been carrying reconnaissance equipment and were launched to “detect and exhaust our air defence forces”, Ukrainian authorities said.
“Most of the probes have been shot down,” the city's administration said in a statement. It added that authorities would carefully examine the debris.
The presence of the balloons in the sky prompted sirens to go off in the Ukrainian capital, which usually happens when missiles are approaching.
Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ignat said that Russia uses balloons to exhaust anti-aircraft missiles.
“The Russians will use all available methods of warfare to achieve their goals,” he told AFP.
“Therefore, it cannot be ruled out that these devices can conduct some kind of surveillance, so it is important to see what they are and understand them.”
Russia and Ukraine conflict latest — in pictures
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A tank, seen left, fires a round in Soledar, a town in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine. Reuters -
Tank fire in Soledar, Donetsk. Reuters -
Firefighters work to put out a blaze at a Kharkiv fireworks storage site after it was struck by a Russian missile. Getty -
Col Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of Ukraine's ground forces, visits his troops on the frontline in Soledar, Donetsk. Reuters -
A Ukrainian flag attached to a tank flutters in the wind in Bakhmut. Reuters -
A specialist from an emergency crew works on a residential building in Donetsk that was damaged in recent shelling. Reuters -
A missile fragment left by shelling in Russian-controlled Donetsk. AP -
Residents remove debris and carry their belongings out of a building destroyed by recent shelling in Donetsk, Russian-controlled Ukraine. Reuters -
Ukrainian forces fire an anti-aircraft weapon as Russia's attack on the frontline city of Bakhmut continues. Reuters -
A car drives past a destroyed building purported to have been used as temporary accommodation for Russian soldiers, dozens of whom were killed in a Ukrainian missile strike in Makiivka, Russian-controlled Ukraine. Reuters -
The site of a temporary barracks for Russian soldiers in Makiivka, which was destroyed in a Ukrainian missile attack. Reuters -
A Ukrainian serviceman carries his injured comrade from the battlefield to a hospital in the Donetsk region. AP -
Smoke rises after shelling in Soledar, the site of heavy battles with Russian forces in the Donetsk region. AP
Since the start of the Russian invasion last February, Ukrainian authorities have repeatedly reported Russian balloons drifting in the country's airspace.
On Tuesday, neighbouring Moldova temporarily closed its airspace due to the presence of a flying object resembling a weather balloon amid heightened tension with Moscow.
The US has been in a state of alarm since a huge white balloon from China was spotted over a series of top secret nuclear weapons sites before being shot down off the east coast.
