Kyiv, other Ukraine cities hit as Putin orders revenge for Crimea bridge
Russia fired cruise missiles at cities across Ukraine during rush hour on Monday morning, killing civilians and knocking out power and heat, in what President Vladimir Putin declared to be revenge for Ukrainian attacks including on a bridge to Crimea.
The missiles tore into busy intersections, parks and tourist sites in the centre of downtown Kyiv with an intensity not seen since Russian forces tried to capture the capital early in the war.
Explosions were also reported in Lviv, Ternopil and Zhytomyr in western Ukraine, Dnipro and Kremenchuk in central Ukraine, Zaporizhzhia in the south and Kharkiv in the east. Ukrainian officials said at least 10 people were killed and scores injured, and swaths of the country were left without power.
In a televised address, Putin said he had ordered "massive" long-range strikes against Ukrainian energy, command and communication targets, using missiles fired from air, sea and land, in response to what he described as terrorist attacks, including Saturday's explosion at the Kerch Strait bridge.
"The Kyiv regime, with its actions, has put itself on the same level as international terrorist organisations. With the most odious groups. To leave such acts without a response is simply impossible," Putin said, threatening more strikes in future if Ukraine hits Russian territory.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Monday's rush hour attacks were deliberately timed to kill people as well as to knock out Ukraine's power grid. His prime minister said 11 major infrastructure targets were hit in eight regions, leaving swaths of the country with no power, water or heat.
Germany said a building housing its consulate in Kyiv had been hit in Monday's strike, though it had not been used since the war started on Feb. 24. The European Union condemned Monday's "barbaric and cowardly attacks" on Ukraine, among a chorus of denunciations from Western countries.
By mid-morning, Ukraine's defence ministry said Russia had fired 81 cruise missiles, and Ukraine's air defences had shot down 43 of them.
Zelenskiy later filmed a video message on a mobile phone on an empty central Kyiv street. He said the strikes had two main targets: energy infrastructure and people.
"Such a time and such targets were specially chosen to cause as much damage as possible," he said.
Prime Minister Denys Shmygal promised to restore utilities as quickly as possible.
Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted: "Putin's only tactic is a terror on peaceful Ukrainian cities, but he will not break Ukraine down. This is also his response to all appeasers who want to talk with him about peace: Putin is a terrorist who talks with missiles."
