Russia Unleash a deadly barrage of strikes against multiple Ukrainian The two cities, smashed civilian targets including downtown Kyiv Where at least eight people were killed.
The intense attack, which lasted for hours, was a sudden military escalation by Moscow. came a day later Russian President Vladimir Putin He described the explosion that occurred last Saturday on the huge bridge linking Russia with the territory of the annexed Crimea as a “terrorist act” orchestrated by the Ukrainian special services.
Rostislav Smirnov, an adviser to Ukraine’s Ministry of Internal Affairs, said at least eight people were killed and 24 wounded in just one attack on Kyiv, according to preliminary information.
The constant barrage on major cities has hit residential areas and vital infrastructure alike, threatening a major escalation of the war amid a Ukrainian counter-offensive in recent weeks. It came just hours before Putin was scheduled to meet his Security Council, as Moscow’s war in Ukraine nears its eight-month completion and the Kremlin is reeling from humiliating battlefield setbacks in the areas it is trying to annex.
Explosions occurred in the capital Shevchenko Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that a large area in the center of Kyiv includes the historic old town as well as many government offices.
Some strikes hit near the government district in the symbolic heart of the capital, where parliament and other major landmarks are located. The glass tower housing the offices was badly damaged, and most of its blue-tinted windows were shattered.
Kyiv subway stop
Residents were seen in the streets stained with blood on their clothes and hands. A young man in a blue jacket sits on the floor while the paramedic wraps a bandage around his head. There was a woman wrapped around her head in bandages and blood was covering the front of her blouse. Several cars were also damaged or completely destroyed. Sirens sounded repeatedly throughout the country and in Kyiv.
The Kyiv subway stopped working as people took refuge in its stations. Electricity and water supplies were cut off in many areas.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky It said Russian forces had fired dozens of Iranian-made missiles and drones at Ukraine.
General Staff Ukrainian Armed Forces He said that 75 missiles were fired at Ukrainian targets, 41 of which were neutralized by air defenses.
In a video speech, Zelensky said the targets were civilian areas and energy facilities in 10 cities. “They (the Russians) deliberately chose such a time and objectives to do the most damage,” Zelensky said.
Lesia Vasylenko, a member of the Verkhovna Rada, posted a photo on Twitter showing that at least one explosion occurred near the main building of Kyiv National University in central Kyiv.
Elsewhere, Russia has targeted civilian areas and energy infrastructure with sirens sounding in every region of Ukraine, with the exception of Russia-annexed Crimea, for four consecutive hours.
Associated Press journalists in downtown Dnipro saw the bodies of several people killed at an industrial site on the outskirts of the city. Windows were smashed in the area and glass was scattered in the street. A communications building was hit.
Ukrainian media also reported explosions in a number of other locations, including the western city of Lviv which was a refuge for many people fleeing the fighting in the east, as well as in Kharkiv, Ternopil, Khmelnitsky, Zhytomyr and Krupivnitsky.
Mayor Ihor Terekhov said that Kharkiv was hit three times. The strikes caused power and water outages. Regional Governor Maxim Kozytsky said energy infrastructure was also damaged in Lviv.
The day before, Putin described the attack on the Kerch bridge into Crimea as an act of terrorism carried out by the Ukrainian special services. “There is no doubt that it is a terrorist act aimed at destroying critical civilian infrastructure,” Putin said at a meeting on Sunday with the head of the Russian Investigative Committee.
The Kerch bridge is strategically important to Russia, as a military supply line for its forces in Ukraine, and emblematic, as a symbol of its claims in Crimea. No one has claimed responsibility for damaging the bridge, which is 12 miles (19 kilometres) long, the longest in Europe.
Amid the attack, Zelensky said on his Telegram account that Russia was “trying to destroy us and wipe us off the face of the earth.”
“Please do not leave the shelters,” he wrote. “Let’s hold on and be strong.”
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