Russia Rains Missiles Down On Ukraine’s Capital And Other Cities
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday that people were killed and injured in multiple missile strikes across Ukraine, including the first bombardment of the capital, Kyiv, in months.
The strikes, it was gathered could signal a major escalation in the eight-month-old war appeared to be entirely punitive — retaliation meant to terrorize Ukrainian civilians in densely-populated urban neighborhoods, close to government buildings, with one even hitting a children’s playground.
The lethal barrage smashed into civilian areas, knocking out power and water, shattering buildings and killing at least 14 people. The bombardment came two days after Russia suffered a serious blow with the bombing that demaged its sole bridge to Crimea
Ukraine’s Emergency Service said nearly 100 people were wounded in the morning rush hour attacks that Russia launched from the air, sea and land against at least 14 regions, spanning from Lviv in the west to Kharkiv in the east. Many of the attacks occurred far from the war’s front lines.
Though Russia said missiles targeted military and energy facilities, some struck civilian areas while people were heading to work and school. One hit a playground in downtown Kyiv and another struck a university.
Rescue workers survey the scene of a Russian attack on Kyiv, Ukraine on Oct. 10, 2022. Several explosions rocked the city early in the morning following months of relative calm in the Ukrainian capital.
The attacks plunged much of the country into a blackout, depriving hundreds of thousands of people of electricity and creating a shortage so severe Ukrainian authorities announced they would have to stop power exports to Europe starting Tuesday. Power outages also often deprive residents of water, given the system’s reliance on electricity to run pumps and other equipment.
The head of Ukraine’s law enforcement said Monday’s attacks damaged 70 infrastructure sites, of which 29 are critical. Zelenskyy said that of the 84 cruise missiles and 24 drones Russia fired, Ukrainian forces shot down 56.
Andriy Yermak, a senior adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said the strikes had no “practical military sense” and that Russia’s goal was to cause a “humanitarian catastrophe.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin said his forces used “precision weapons” to target key energy infrastructure and military command facilities in retaliation for Kyiv’s “terrorist” actions — a reference to Ukraine’s attempts to repel Moscow’s invasion forces, including an attack Saturday on a key bridge between Russia and the annexed Crimean Peninsula that Putin called a “terrorist act” masterminded by Ukrainian special services.
Putin vowed a “tough” and “proportionate” response should Ukraine carry out further attacks that threaten Russia’s security. “No one should have any doubts about it,” he told Russia’s Security Council by video.