Don’t miss the latest developments in business and finance.

Kyiv, multiple Ukrainian cities hit by Russian missiles at rush hour

Russia unleashed a lethal barrage of strikes against multiple Ukrainian cities on Monday, smashing civilian targets including downtown Kyiv where at least eight people were killed

Ukraine
Police inspect the scene of Russian shelling in Kyiv (Photo: AP/PTI)
AP | PTI Kyiv
6 min read Last Updated : Oct 10 2022 | 11:46 PM IST

Russia unleashed a lethal barrage of strikes against multiple Ukrainian cities on Monday, smashing civilian targets including downtown Kyiv where at least eight people were killed.

The intense, hours-long attack marked a sudden military escalation by Moscow.

It came a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin called a Saturday explosion on the huge bridge connecting Russia to its annexed territory of Crimea a terrorist act masterminded by Ukrainian special services.

At least eight people were killed and 24 were injured in just one of the Kyiv strikes, according to preliminary information, said Rostyslav Smirnov, an adviser to the Ukrainian ministry of internal affairs.

The sustained barrage on major cities hit residential areas and critical infrastructure facilities alike, portending a major surge in the war amid a successful Ukrainian counteroffensive in recent weeks.

It came a few hours before Putin was due to hold a meeting with his security council, as Moscow's war in Ukraine approaches its eight-month milestone and the Kremlin reels from humiliating battlefield setbacks in areas it is trying to annex.

Blasts struck in the capital's Shevchenko district, a large area in the centre of Kyiv that includes the historic old town as well as several government offices, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

Some of the strikes hit near the government quarter in the symbolic heart of the capital, where Parliament and other major landmarks are located.

A glass tower housing offices was significantly damaged, most of its blue-tinted windows blown out.

Residents were seen on the streets with blood on their clothes and hands. A young man wearing a blue jacket sat on the ground as a medic wrapped a bandage around his head.

A woman with bandages wrapped around her head had blood all over the front of her blouse. Several cars were also damaged or completely destroyed. Air raid sirens sounded repeatedly across the country and in Kyiv.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian forces launched dozens of missiles and Iranian-built drones against Ukraine. The General Staff of the Ukraine Armed Forces said 75 missiles were fired against Ukrainian targets, with 41 of them neutralised by air defences.

The targets were civilian areas and energy facilities in 10 cities, Zelenskyy said in a video address. (The Russians) chose such a time and such targets on purpose to inflict the most damage, Zelenskyy said.

The morning strikes sent Kyiv residents back into bomb shelters for the first time in months. The city's subway system stopped train services and made the stations available once more as bomb shelters.

While 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 had begun to ignore their warnings and go about their normal business.

That changed on Monday morning. The attacks arrived in Kyiv at the start of the morning rush hour, when commuter traffic was beginning to pick up.

At least one of the vehicles struck near the Kyiv National University appeared to be a commuter minibus, known as a marshrutka, and a popular albeit often crowded alternative to the city's bus and metro routes.

Nearby, at least one strike landed in the popular Shevchenko Park, leaving a large hole near a children's playground.

Lesia Vasylenko, a member of Ukraine's parliament, posted a photo on Twitter showing that at least one explosion occurred near the main building of the Kyiv National University in central Kyiv.

Elsewhere, Russia targeted civilian areas and energy infrastructure as air raid sirens sounded in every region of Ukraine, except Russia-annexed Crimea, for four straight hours.

Associated Press journalists in Dnipro city saw the bodies of multiple people killed at an industrial site on the city's outskirts. Windows in the area had been blown out and glass littered the street. A telecommunications building was hit.

Ukrainian media also reported explosions in a number of other locations, including the western city of Lviv that has been a refuge for many people fleeing the fighting in the east, as well as in Kharkiv, Ternopil, Khmelnytskyi, Zhytomyr and Kropyvnytskyi.

Kharkiv was hit three times, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said.

The strikes knocked out the electricity and water supply. Energy infrastructure was also hit in Lviv, Regional Governor Maksym Kozytskyi said.

Three cruise missiles launched against Ukraine from Russian ships in the Black Sea crossed Moldova's airspace, the country's Foreign Affairs Minister Nicu Popescu complained.

A day earlier, Putin had called the attack on the Kerch Bridge to Crimea a terrorist act carried out by Ukrainian special services.

In a meeting Sunday with the chairman of Russia's Investigative Committee, Putin said there's no doubt it was a terrorist act directed at the destruction of critically important civilian infrastructure.

The Kerch Bridge is important to Russia strategically, as a military supply line to its forces in Ukraine, and symbolically, as an emblem of its claims on Crimea.

No one has claimed responsibility for damaging the 12-mile (19-kilometre) -long bridge, the longest in Europe.

Amid the onslaught, Zelenskyy said on his Telegram account that Russia is trying to destroy us and wipe us off the face of the earth.

The attacks appeared set to bring a fresh bout of international condemnation for Russia.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's spokesman, Steffen Hebestreit, said the Group of Seven industrial powers will hold a video conference on Tuesday on the situation which Zelenskyy will address. Germany currently chairs the G-7.

Ukrainian Foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba broke off his Africa tour and headed back to Ukraine, saying on Twitter the attacks represented terror on peaceful Ukrainian cities.

Some feared Monday's attacks may just be the first salvo in a renewed Russian offensive. Ukraine's Ministry of Education announced that all schools in Ukraine must switch to online classes at least until the end of this week.

Lukashenko warns Ukraine, deploys troops with Russia

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said he had ordered troops to deploy with Russian forces near Ukraine in response to what he said was a clear threat to Belarus from Kyiv The remarks from Lukashenko, who has held power in Belarus since 1994, indicate a potential further escalation of the war in Ukraine, possibly with a combined Russian-Belarus joint force in the north Ukraine. (Reuters)


EU mulls $17.5 bn in Ukraine aid despite blocked funds

The European Union (EU) is in discussions to extend Ukraine around $17.5 billion in funding next year to help cover urgent financing needs, even as billions of euros in aid the bloc approved more than four months ago remain unpaid. 

The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, is working on the new funding proposal, according to people familiar with the plans. The package will aim to provide at least half of the $2.9 million to $3.9 billion Ukraine needs per month, one of the people said. Western allies including the US have been discussing ways to keep Ukraine’s economy afloat as the war ticks past the seven-month mark, and officials in Kyiv have redoubled requests for more help. Some partners have privately criticized the EU for not fully delivering on prior commitments of nearly $8.7 billion. (Bloomberg)


Also Read

Topics :Russia Ukraine ConflictKiev UkraineDeath tollUkraine

First Published: Oct 10 2022 | 3:45 PM IST

Next Story