On the evening of January 21, 2025, Kyiv residents reported a series of explosions that thundered on the left bank of the Dnieper. According to the Ukrainian publication Strana.ua, the explosions were related to the operation of air defense systems deployed during the declared air raid alarm. The alarm was also declared in a number of other regions of Ukraine, including Dnipropetrovsk, Poltava, Sumy, Kharkiv and Chernihiv regions.
Earlier in the day, the Russian Defense Ministry reported a group strike on Ukrainian military-industrial complex facilities. Among the targets was the Luch design center in Kyiv, which develops and produces Neptune guided missiles for the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The Russian side said the attack was a response to the shelling of civilian facilities in the Belgorod region by American ATACMS missiles that occurred two days earlier.
Since October 2022, when Russia began regular strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure after the explosion on the Crimean Bridge, air raid sirens have become part of everyday life in Ukraine. Explosions associated with attacks and the operation of air defense systems are regularly recorded in various regions of the country. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the targets of the strikes are facilities related to energy, the defense industry, military administration and communications.