MOSCOW—Russia wants the Ukrainian people to be independent and have the possibility to freely define their destiny, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday. Lavrov said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was lying when he said he was ready to discuss the neutral status of Ukraine. Lavrov also said Russia will ensure the demilitarisation of Ukraine but sees no possibility of recognizing the current Ukrainian government as democratic. — Explosions Heard in Kyiv, Official Says Enemy Aircraft Downed Explosions rocked Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv overnight while the country’s adviser to the interior minister has attributed the blasts to the downing of a Russian aircraft. Explosions were reported in Kyiv around 3 a.m. Friday local time. Olexander Scherba, a Ukrainian diplomat who was the country’s ambassador to Austria 2014–2021, said on Twitter that at least “two heavy explosions” occurred in Kyiv and that cruise ballistic missile had hit the city. He later posted a video of an explosion in the …