Bright flash in Kyiv sky sparks speculations of meteorite or falling satellite

Kyiv residents observed a “bright glow from an aerial object” on Wednesday evening, Kyiv City Military Administration head Serhii Popko reported on Telegram.

The flare reportedly occurred at about 10:00 p.m. local time. An air raid alert was declared in Kyiv, but the city’s anti-missile defenses were not activated, according to Popko. “Preliminary data indicates that this phenomenon was the result of a NASA space satellite falling to Earth,” he wrote.

Ukraine’s national space agency reported that at 9:57 p.m., a “high-energy acoustic event” took place. “The estimated epicenter of the explosion is the Kyiv region. The event was likely linked to the entry of a space object into the dense layers of the atmosphere,” it said in a statement.

The Ukrainian Air Force, in turn, said that the flash was likely the result of a falling satellite or meteorite, and that Russia is not currently posed to launch an air attack in the city.

Earlier this week, NASA reported that RHESSI, a retired satellite, was expected to fall to earth on Wednesday. According to NASA representative Rob Margetta, however, the satellite was still in orbit when the flash was seen in Kyiv. After Margetta’s statement, the Kyiv military administration announced that its previous report that the light was caused by a satellite was a speculation intended to “calm” residents.