Blasts were heard in Kyiv Wednesday after Ukraine’s air force put the nation under an air raid alert.

“Putin is launching a missile attack on Kyiv right now,” the president’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, said on the social media platform Telegram, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The air force earlier warned that a missile had entered the country’s airspace.

“Attention! Missile in Chernihiv region heading for Kyiv region,” it said on Telegram.

Russia launched cruise missiles from aircraft and ballistic missiles, the Ukrainian military said.

“Explosions in the city. Air defense forces are working. Stay in shelters!” Kyiv city administration said on the Telegram messenger.

The attack came after a U.S. State Department spokesperson said North Korea troops have begun fighting alongside Russians.

“Over 10,000 DPRK (North Korean) soldiers have been sent to eastern Russia, and most of them have moved to the far western Kursk Oblast, where they have begun engaging in combat operations with Russian forces,” spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters during a Tuesday briefing in Washington.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke Tuesday with his Ukrainian counterpart Rustem Umerov “to discuss battlefield dynamics and provide an update on U.S. security assistance” for the Eastern European country, according to Pentagon press secretary Major General Pat Ryder.

Ryder said, “the secretary reaffirmed President [Joe] Biden’s commitment to surge security assistance to Ukraine.”

The Pentagon also clarified the amount of money that remains available for Ukraine’s military assistance. There is about $7.1 billion left in the Presidential Drawdown Authority, which includes $4.3 billion approved by Congress in April, plus $2.8 billion that became available after recalculations. 

Additionally, there is about $2.2 billion available under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative program. Ryder again underscored that the United States would rush aid to Ukraine and use all available funds.

Ryder said the two defense leaders also talked about the implications of the thousands of North Korean troops now assessed to be mostly in western Kursk Oblast. 

Information from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse was used in this report.
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