*11 civilians killed, 64 sustain injuries in 14 regions
*US, UN, world leaders condemn Russia’s assault on Ukraine.
In what can be regarded as retaliatory moves by Russia over the attack on Crimea Bridge, about 11 civilians have been killed in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, following the multiple missile strikes from the air, sea and land as reportedly directed by the Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Confirming the development, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday that scores of his people were killed and injured in multiple missile strikes across Ukraine, including the first bombardment of the capital, Kyiv, in months.
CBS News also reports that the strikes, which 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 11 people. The bombardment came two days after Russia suffered a serious blow with the bombing that damaged its sole bridge to Crimea.
Ukraine’s Emergency Service said 64 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.
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 on 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 nationwide damaged 70 infrastructure sites, of which 29 are critical. The Ukrainian General Staff said 84 cruise missiles and 24 drones were used. Ukrainian forces shot down 56 aerial targets, it said.
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.
The explosions in Kyiv and other cities came just a day after Putin blamed Kyiv for the massive explosion on a 12-mile bridge connecting Crimea with Russia. Crimea is a large Ukrainian peninsula that Russia occupied and then unilaterally annexed eight years ago during a previous invasion. The annexation of that territory, like Putin’s recent land grab of four Ukrainian regions that he declared Russian soil last week, have been condemned as illegitimate and illegal by Ukraine, the United Nations, the United States and other countries.
The blast that hit the bridge sparked celebrations among Ukrainians and others on social media — but officials in Kyiv have made no direct claim of responsibility.
The Russian president has been under intense domestic pressure to take more aggressive action to stop a largely successful Ukrainian counter-offensive and to react forcefully to Saturday’s attack on the Kerch bridge, whose construction he used to cement his 2014 annexation of Crimea.
Putin’s increasingly frequent descriptions of Ukraine’s actions as terrorist could portend even more bold and draconian actions. But in Monday’s speech, Putin — whose partial troop mobilization order last month triggered an exodus of hundreds of thousands of men of fighting age from Russia — stopped short of an expected escalation from what he calls a “special military operation” to a counter-terrorism campaign or martial law.
But Zelenskyy has repeatedly called on world leaders to declare Russia a terrorist state because of its attacks on civilians and alleged war crimes.
Zelenskyy emerged onto a street in Kyiv on Monday to record a selfie video with a message to his people and the world, denouncing Russia for the barrage of missiles which he said had targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and its civilians.
He said, “They have specifically chosen such a time and such targets to cause as much damage as possible. “But we Ukrainians, we help each other, believe in ourselves, rebuild everything. Now the shortages of electricity may occur, but not the shortage of our defiance and our confidence in our victory.”
Incidentally, the strikes sent residents of Ukraine’s two largest cities — Kyiv and Kharkiv — into bomb shelters, including subway stations.
While air raid sirens have continued throughout the war in cities across the country, in Kyiv and elsewhere, many Ukrainians had begun to ignore their warnings after months of calm.
Just as traffic was picking up Monday morning, a commuter minibus was struck near Kyiv National University. Nearby, at least one strike landed in Shevchenko Park, leaving a large hole near a children’s playground.
Another target was the Klitschko Pedestrian Bridge — a landmark in central Kyiv with glass panels. Closed-circuit video footage showed a huge explosion under the bridge, with smoke rising, and a man running away after the blast, apparently unhurt. No significant damage to the bridge was immediately apparent.
Air raid sirens sounded in every region of Ukraine except Russia-annexed Crimea for four straight hours.
Videos posted on social media showed black smoke rising above several areas of the city. Russia’s last strike on the capital was on June 26.
Associated Press journalists saw multiple bodies at an industrial site on the outskirts of Dnipro. Four people were killed and 19 injured in the city, officials said. Witnesses said one missile landed in front of a bus during the morning rush hour, damaging the vehicle but not killing any passengers.
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 Gov. Maksym Kozytskyi said.
Three cruise missiles launched against Ukraine from Russian ships in the Black Sea crossed Moldova’s airspace, said the country’s foreign affairs minister, Nicu Popescu.
As the European Union condemned Russia’s attack and said the targeting of civilians amounted to “a war crime,” Russia’s Defense Ministry confirmed the “massive strike with long-range precision weapons.” It claimed the missiles had targeted “objects of the military command and control, communications and energy systems of Ukraine” and that “all assigned objects were hit.”
US, UN, World leaders condemn Russia’s assault on Ukraine
Meanwhile, the United States President Joe Biden, world leaders, United Nations, European Union have condemned the missile attacks on Ukraine capital by Russia, saying that the development is capable of endangering world peace.
The world leaders stated this in their separate comments as follows:
United States
The US President Joe Biden has strongly condemned Russia’s missile strikes, saying the attacks “demonstrate the utter brutality” of Putin’s “illegal war.”
“These attacks killed and injured civilians and destroyed targets with no military purpose,” Biden said in a statement. “We will continue to impose costs on Russia for its aggression.”
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he spoke to his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba “to reiterate US support for Ukraine following the Kremlin’s horrific strikes this morning”.
“We will continue to provide unwavering economic, humanitarian, and security assistance so Ukraine can defend itself and take care of its people,” Blinken tweeted.
United Nations
In a related development, the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, has condemned Russia’s action, saying that he is “deeply shocked by Monday’s large-scale missile attacks” on Ukraine.
Spokesman to Guterres said this in a statement made available on Monday.
He added that the strike “constitutes another unacceptable escalation of the war and, as always, civilians are paying the highest price.”
“People on their way to work, parents taking their children to school. There is no excuse for this violence. Stop!”.
“Shocking and deadly attacks in cities across Ukraine, including in the capital. People on their way to work, parents taking their children to school. There is no excuse for this violence. Stop!” Humanitarian Coordinator, Denise Brown, said.
Some feared Monday’s attacks may just be the first salvo in a renewed Russian offensive. As a precautionary measure, Ukraine has switched all schools to online learning until the end of the week.
European Union
The President of the European Parliament said the strikes in Kyiv were “sickening”.
“It shows the world, again, the regime we are faced with: One that targets indiscriminately. One that rains terror and death down on children,” Roberta Metsola tweeted.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the bloc’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the EU believes Russia’s missile attack on civilians in Ukraine “amounts to a war crime”.
“Indiscriminately targeting people in a cowardly, heinous hail of missiles on civilian targets is indeed a further escalation,” spokesman Peter Stano said.
“The European Union condemns in the strongest possible terms these heinous attacks on the civilians and civilian infrastructure … This is something which is against international humanitarian law and this indiscriminate targeting of civilians amounts to a war crime,” he said.
Germany
The Group of Seven (G7) countries has disclosed that it will hold talks on Tuesday after Russia’s missile attacks, a German government spokesperson said.
Zelenskyy will address the G-7 leaders at the start of the virtual talks, said the spokesperson, adding that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had assured the Ukrainian president of support in a phone call.
India
India also said it is “deeply concerned” by the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine, a spokesman for the country’s foreign ministry said.
“We reiterate that escalation of hostilities is in no one’s interest. We urge immediate cessation of hostilities and the urgent return to the path of diplomacy and dialogue,” Arindam Bagchi said in a statement.
NATO
Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg described the attacks as “horrific”.
“Spoke with Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and condemned Russia’s horrific and indiscriminate attacks on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine,” Stoltenberg said in a tweet.
“NATO will continue supporting the brave Ukrainian people to fight back against the Kremlin’s aggression for as long as it takes.”
Spoke with Foreign Minister @DmytroKuleba & condemned #Russia’s horrific & indiscriminate attacks on civilian infrastructure in #Ukraine. #NATO will continue supporting the brave Ukrainian people to fight back against the Kremlin’s aggression for as long as it takes.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom Foreign Secretary James Cleverly , on Monday, said the attacks are “unacceptable”,
“This is a demonstration of weakness by Putin, not strength,” he tweeted, adding that he had contacted his Ukrainian counterpart, Kuleba.
China
China’s Foreign Ministry has called for de-escalation of the war in Ukraine.
“We hope the situation will de-escalate soon,” ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a regular press briefing.
An injured woman receives medical treatment at the scene of Russian shelling, in Kyiv, Ukraine, October 10, 2022 [Efrem Lukatsky/AP Photo]
France
French President Emmanuel Macron has also expressed “extreme concern” during a call with Zelenskyy and promised that Paris would increase military aid.
“The president spoke of his extreme concern about strikes that have caused civilian victims,” Macron’s office said in a statement.
“He reaffirmed his full and complete support for President Zelensky and the commitment of France to increase its support for Ukraine, in line with the needs expressed by Kyiv, including in terms of military equipment.”
Moldova
Moldova’s foreign minister said several Russian cruise missiles targeting Ukraine had crossed its airspace and Moscow’s envoy was summoned to give an explanation.
“Our thoughts are with the victims of the brutal strikes,” Nicu Popescu said on Twitter.
Canada
Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly has described the attacks “shocking and horrifying”, adding that targeting civilians was a “war crime”.
“Canada stands with the people of Ukraine,” she tweeted
