Russia retaliated Monday for what it claimed was a Ukrainian terrorist attack on a critical bridge by unleashing its biggest and most widespread attacks against Ukraine in months. The lethal barrage against multiple cities smashed civilian targets, knocking out power and water, shattering buildings and killing at least 11 people.
Ukraine’s Emergency Service said 64 people were wounded across the country in the morning attacks — the biggest and broadest since the early days of the war.
Though some missiles apparently targeted energy facilities, others struck civilian areas during the morning rush-hour. One hit a playground in downtown Kyiv and another struck 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 Russia’s goal was to cause a “humanitarian catastrophe.”
Putin strikes in retaliation for bridge bombin
Russian President Vladimir Putin said the strikes were in retaliation for what he called 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 said.
Speaking in a video call with members of Russia’s Security Council, Putin said the Russian military launched “precision weapons” from the air, sea and ground to target key energy and military command facilities.
But the intense hours-long 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.
The Ukrainian General Staff said 84 cruise missiles and 24 drones were use in the barrage. Ukrainian forces shot down 56 aerial targets, it said.
No declaration of Russian martial law
Putin, whose partial mobilization order earlier this month triggered an exodus of hundreds of thousands of men of fighting age from Russia, stopped short of declaring martial law or a counterterrorism operation as many had expected.
Moscow’s war in Ukraine is approaching its eight-month milestone, and the Kremlin has been reeling from humiliating battlefield setbacks in areas of eastern Ukraine it is trying to annex.
Blasts struck in the capital’s Shevchenko district, a large area in the center of the city 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.