Western leaders from the United States to Europe have condemned Russia for a wave of missiles fired at Ukraine that “hit targets with no military purpose” and showed the Kremlin’s “absolute brutality.”
Ukraine’s Emergency Service said 64 people were injured across the country in the attacks on Monday morning (Monday evening AEDT), the largest and most widespread since the early days of the war. At least 12 were killed in Kyiv and Dnipro.
People receive medical treatment at the site of a Russian airstrike in Kyiv, Ukraine. (AP)
While some missiles apparently targeted energy facilities, others hit civilian areas during the morning rush hour. One hit a children’s playground in central Kyiv and another hit a central building of a local university.
Andriy Yermak, a senior adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said there was no “practical military sense” in the strikes and that Russia’s aim was to cause a “humanitarian catastrophe”.
Putin said the Russian military launched precision weapons from the air, sea and land to target key military and energy command facilities.
He warned that if Ukraine continues to carry out “terrorist attacks” on Russia, Moscow’s response will be “tough and proportionate to the level of threats”.
Amid the attack, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on his Telegram account that Russia “is trying to destroy us and wipe us off the face of the earth.”
“Please don’t leave the (bomb) shelters,” he wrote.
“Let’s hold on and be strong.”
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Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko shake hands during a meeting in May. (Ramil Sitdikov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo v AP)
Moscow’s war in Ukraine is nearing its eight-month mark, and the Kremlin is reeling from humiliating battlefield setbacks in areas it is trying to annex.
Russia’s intense hours-long attack on Ukraine marked a sudden military escalation by Moscow.
An injured woman reacts after Russian bombings in Kyiv. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) (AP)
Sustained shelling in major cities hit both residential areas and critical infrastructure facilities, portending a major escalation in the war amid a successful Ukrainian counter-offensive in recent weeks.
Ukraine’s General Staff said 84 cruise missiles and 24 drones were used in the dam. Ukrainian forces shot down 56 air targets, he said.
Putin, whose partial mobilization order earlier this month prompted the exodus of hundreds of thousands of fighting-age men from Russia, stopped short of declaring martial law or an anti-terrorist operation as many s ‘they had waited. Kyiv (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) (AP)
Target civil areas and energy infrastructures
The targets were civilian areas and energy facilities in 10 cities, Zelenskyy said in a video address.
“(The Russians) chose this moment and these targets on purpose to inflict the most damage,” Zelenskyy said.
Morning strikes sent Kyiv residents back to bomb shelters for the first time in months. The city’s subway system halted train services and made stations available as air raid shelters.
Although air raid sirens have continued throughout the war in Ukraine’s major cities across the country, in Kyiv and other areas where there have been months of calm many Ukrainians have begun to ignore their warnings and their usual business.
That changed Monday morning. The attacks hit Kyiv at the start of the morning rush hour, when commuter traffic was beginning to build.
At least one of the vehicles hit near Kyiv National University appeared to be a commuter minibus, known as a “marshrutka,” and a popular, if often crowded, alternative to the city’s bus and subway routes.
Nearby, at least one strike fell in the popular Shevchenko Park, leaving a large hole near a children’s playground.
Among the targets hit was the Klitschko Pedestrian Bridge, a landmark in central Kyiv with its glass panels. CCTV footage showed a large explosion as the bridge was hit and a man running away after the explosion.
Police inspect the scene of Russian bombings in Kyiv. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) (AP)
The attacks provoked international condemnation
The attacks sparked outrage in the West.
US President Joe Biden condemned the attacks, saying they “killed and injured civilians and destroyed targets with no military purpose”, demonstrating the “absolute brutality of Mr Putin’s illegal war against the Ukrainian people”.
“Along with our allies and partners, we will continue to impose costs on Russia for its aggression, hold Putin and Russia accountable for its atrocities and war crimes, and provide the necessary support for Ukrainian forces to defend their country and their freedom.” , he said. .
French President Emmanuel Macron has expressed “extreme concern”. British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly tweeted that “Russia’s firing of missiles into civilian areas of Ukraine is unacceptable.”
A medical worker runs past a burning car after a Russian attack in Kyiv. (AP Photo (AP)
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she was “shocked and appalled” by the attacks and pledged to stand by Ukraine “as long as it takes.”
“Russia has once again shown the world what it stands for: it is terror and brutality,” he said.
“Those responsible must be held accountable.”
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba cut short his tour of Africa and returned to Ukraine, saying on Twitter that the attacks represented “terror in the peaceful cities of Ukraine.”
Three of the missiles were fired from ships in the Black Sea and crossed into Moldovan airspace before landing in Ukraine, according to Moldovan Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Nicu Popescu.
Popescu said he had summoned the Russian ambassador for an explanation.
Moldova is located on Ukraine’s southwestern border, near the crucial Black Sea port city of Odesa.
Putin accuses Ukraine of “terrorist attack” on Crimean bridge
The attacks came just hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin called Saturday’s blast at the huge bridge connecting Russia with its annexed territory of Crimea a “terrorist act” masterminded by Ukrainian special services.
The first attacks in Kyiv in four months targeted the city center and left dead and injured, an Emergency Service spokesman told the AP early Monday (Monday night AEDT).
Explosions were reported in the city’s Shevchenko district, a large area in central Kyiv that includes the historic Old Town and several government offices, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.
Some of the strikes have occurred near the government quarter in the symbolic heart of the capital, home to Parliament and other important landmarks. A glass tower housing the offices was badly damaged, most of its blue windows blown out.
Lesia Vasylenko, a member of Ukraine’s parliament, posted a photo on Twitter showing at least one explosion near the main building of Kyiv National University in central Kyiv.
After early morning strikes in Kyiv, louder explosions were heard later in the morning in an intensification of Russia’s attack that could mean a major escalation in the war.
The last previous attack in Kyiv was in June. One of the missiles hit an apartment building, killing one and injuring six. But unlike previous attacks that mostly hit the outskirts of Kyiv, Monday’s strike targeted several locations in the city center itself.
Police inspect the scene of Russian bombings in Kyiv, Ukraine. (AP)
Air raid sirens sound for hours across the country
Elsewhere, Russia targeted civilian areas and energy infrastructure as air raid sirens sounded in all regions of Ukraine, except Russian-annexed Crimea, for four straight hours.
Associated Press reporters in downtown Dnipro saw the bodies of several people killed at an industrial site on the outskirts of the city. Windows in the area had been broken and glass littered the street.
Ukrainian media reported explosions elsewhere, including the western city of Lviv, which has been a refuge for many fleeing fighting in the east, as well as Ternopil, Khmelnytskyi, Zhytomyr and Kropyvnytskyi.
Kharkiv was hit three times, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said. The strikes cut off electricity and water supplies. Energy infrastructure was also affected in Lviv, regional governor Maksym Kozytskyi said.
The recent fighting has been centered in regions north of Crimea, including Zaporizhzhia, where six missiles were fired overnight Saturday from Russian-held areas of the Zaporizhzhia region.
Two explosions rocked Kyiv early Monday after months of relative calm in the Ukrainian capital. (AP)
The Kerch Bridge is strategically important to Russia, as a military supply line to its forces in Ukraine, and symbolically, as an emblem of its claims over Crimea. No one has claimed responsibility for damaging the 19 kilometer long bridge, the longest in Europe.
After the strikes in Kyiv, several residents were seen in the streets with blood on their clothes and hands. A young man wearing a blue jacket sat on the floor while a doctor wrapped a bandage around his head.
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A woman with bandages wrapped around her head had blood on the front of her blouse. Several cars were also damaged or completely destroyed.
Some feared Monday’s attacks could be just the first salvo in a renewed Russian offensive. The Ministry of Education of Ukraine announced that all schools in Ukraine must switch to online classes at least until the end of this week.