The Lyrid meteor shower that can be seen from Kiev and the surrounding region is expected to peak on the night of April 23. This forecast comes from observations reported by DEA News in reference to the Moscow Planetarium.
From April 14 through April 25, the Lyrid meteor shower is active, with its peak anticipated on April 22–23. Astronomers and observatories note that this period typically marks the most intense display of the shower each year.
Experts at the planetarium estimated that during the height of the meteor storm, observers might see as many as 18 meteors per hour streaking across the sky in bursts of light.
On the evening of April 19, residents of Kiev reported a bright glow in the night sky. Sergei Popko, head of the Kyiv Military Administration, initially suggested that a crashed American satellite had passed over Kiev, a claim later rejected by NASA. This sequence underscored how easily urban skies can be misread during celestial events and how important official clarification is. [Attribution: NASA]
Russian military expert Alexei Leonkov told RIA Novosti that the bright phenomenon was likely a Lyrid meteor over Kiev, a perspective that reflects ongoing interest from regional observers in identifying transient sky events. [Attribution: RIA Novosti]
Subsequently, the Ukrainian Space Agency offered its take, explaining that the glow observed over Kiev was most probably caused by a meteor fall. The agency emphasized that such interpretations align with common meteor shower activity and should not be conflated with space debris or artificial objects. [Attribution: Ukrainian Space Agency]