Media: Explosions heard in Russian-occupied Luhansk

An explosion was heard in the Russian-occupied city of Luhansk in Ukraine’s east on the morning of June 8, Ukrainian news outlet Suspilne reported citing residents.

Smoke is rising in several areas of the city, in particular, over the Luhansk locomotive plant, as well as a food factory, Suspilne wrote.

Russian state-owned news agency TASS reported several explosions, adding that missiles allegedly flew over the city.

TASS cited a Russian colonel Vitaly Kiselev saying they were purportedly Storm Shadow missiles recently provided to Ukraine by the U.K. This claim could not be independently verified.

Ukrainian authorities haven’t commented on the incident.

The air-launched Storm Shadow missile, jointly developed by the U.K. and France, has a range of 250 kilometers (155 miles), aiming at the target at 987 kilometers per hour or 0.8 of the speed of sound.

There have been multiple reports since the start of the full-scale invasion about fires and other acts of sabotage within Russia and the Ukrainian territories occupied by Moscow.

Russia usually blames Ukraine for such incidents, while Kyiv doesn't take responsibility for the explosions.

Reznikov reports 100% hit rate for new British-made cruise missiles used by Ukraine

The air-launched Storm Shadow missiles, jointly developed by Great Britain and France and capable of hitting targets at a distance of more than 250 kilometers, were delivered to Ukraine on May 12 from the UK, CNN reported.

The Kyiv IndependentThe Kyiv Independent news desk