On the evening of April 19, a bright glow appeared in the sky over Kiev, an air raid siren worked in the city. The city military administration reported that the outbreak was associated with the fall of a NASA satellite, but the US space agency denied this information.
At first, local authorities attributed the outbreak to air defenses. “Don't worry about UFOs. This is our air defense,” Andriy Yermak, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, wrote on his Telegram channel, but later deleted the post.
Later, the head of the administration, Sergei Popko, said that the matter was in the fall of the satellite: “About 10 pm on April 19, a bright glow of an air object was observed in the sky within Kiev. According to preliminary information, this phenomenon was the result of a NASA space satellite falling to Earth. To avoid casualties from debris falling to the ground, an air raid alert was announced. Air defense did not work.
The Air Force of Ukraine also linked the flash in the sky with the "fall of a satellite / meteorite."
On April 17, it was reported that the research satellite RHESSI, which studied the Sun and was decommissioned, should fall to Earth. NASA spokesman Rob Margetta told the BBC that the satellite was still in orbit when the flash of light was observed over Kiev.
The Ukrainian scientific media project The Alpha Centauri writes that a fireball could fall near Kiev – a large fiery bright meteor.
