In what appears to be the heaviest wave of missile and rocket attacks since the opening week of the war, Russia on Monday launched long-range missile on Ukraine rocking multiple cities including the capital Kyiv, killing as many as 10 people and injuring 60.
Confirming this, in a television appearance, Putin said Russia had struck military and infrastructure targets across Ukraine following the Crimea bridge blast that took place on Saturday. Putin threatened further “harsh” responses that correspond “to the level of threat to the Russian Federation, have no doubt about it,” while accusing Kyiv of “terrorism.”
The Kremlin said that a huge missile salvo across Ukraine launched by its forces was within the framework of what Russia calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, on the other hand, accused Russia of trying to “destroy” Ukrainians and wipe them “off the face of the earth”. Zelenskyy also said Russian forces launched dozens of missiles against Ukraine and the targets were civilian areas and energy facilities in 10 cities. The general staff of the Ukraine armed forces said 75 missiles were fired against Ukrainian targets adding that 41 of them were neutralized by air defenses.
‑Zelenskyy further said the missile strikes targeted Ukraine’s energy facilities and its people. “They have especially chosen the time and the targets to create the most damage,” he said while standing outside his office in the center of Kyiv. Moscow wanted to destroy Ukraine’s “energy system,” Zelenskyy said, adding that the Ukrainians shot down 38 incoming projectiles. He urged people to stay in shelters on Monday.
Local media citing city’s mayor reported that multiple explosions rocked Ukraine’s capital Kyiv. Explosions also reported in the cities of Lviv, Zhytomyr, Khmelnytsky, Dnipro and, Ternopil. The Kyiv Independent reported, multiple explosions are being reported in cities all across the country. Eyewitnesses are reporting powerful explosions and power outages in Kyiv.
Kyiv Independent quoted advisor to Ukraine’s Interior Minister, Rostyslav Smirnov stating that the attack on central Kyiv has killed eight people while injuring 24 persons. As of around 8:45 am (local time), six cars caught fire and over 15 cars were damaged as a result of the attack on Kyiv’s Shevchenkivskyi district.
Plumes of smoke were seen billowing out from several areas in Kyiv. Dramatic footage of BBC correspondent Hugo Bachega who was reporting live from the area ducking as explosions were heard in the capital Kyiv, soon began to be circulated on social media. Suddenly, several explosions were heard from behind following which the reporting was cut short.
The series of Russian missiles launched at Ukraine was aimed at “critical infrastructure to destroy the country’s energy supply,” according to a Ukrainian government official.
Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, also warned Ukrainians to be prepared for blackouts. “Power facilities from Lviv to Zaporizhzhia, Kyiv to Khmelnytskyi region, Dnipro and Vinnytsia, Ivano-Frankivsk region, Sumy region, Kharkiv region, Zhytomyr region, Kirovohrad, and the entire south are targeted,” Tymoshenko said on Telegram.
“This may affect the stability of energy supply, so we need to be prepared for the consequences of such shelling, up to rolling blackouts,” he added.
The Ukrainian State Emergency Service said there is no electricity supply in five regions — Lviv, Poltava, Sumy, Kharkiv and Ternopil — and power supply has been partially disrupted in the rest of the country.