Confusion reigns over flash in skies above Kyiv

World
By William

The local military administration rules out the possibility of a Russian attack, as NASA offers a denial and Ukrainians joke about an alien invasion.

A flash in the sky over the Ukrainian capital caused confusion on Wednesday evening.

The military administration of the city of Kiev on Thursday dismissed the possibility that the “bright glow” was the result of a Russian military strike, while the US space agency NASA denied reports that any of its planes were involved.

The administration said it recorded the “fall of an unknown aerial object” at about 10 p.m. (7 p.m. GMT) on Wednesday.

“After verification and clarification, the information about the possible use of enemy aircraft or an airstrike with missile weapons was not confirmed,” it said on its Telegram channel.

“But the very bright glow of the fall of an unknown object caused excitement and concern among the people of Kiev,” it added.

“It was not a missile attack, our anti-aircraft defenses did not use the available weapons.”

Previous reports suggested the object was a NASA satellite, but the administration quoted the space agency as denying it was their spacecraft.

“What exactly it was – only experts should find out,” the administration said.

In a statement released Thursday, NASA said one of its spacecraft, the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager, was being retired and expected to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere in April, more than 20 years after launch.

“NASA expects most of the spacecraft to burn up as it travels through the atmosphere, but some components are expected to survive reentry. The risk of harm to anyone on Earth is low — about 1 in 2,467,” the US said. desk.

A NASA spokesperson told reporters Wednesday that the satellite in question was still in orbit at the time the flash was observed.

Meanwhile, on social media, Ukrainians joked about a new chapter in the war: an alien invasion.

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