Russia Bombs Kyiv, Other Cities Across Ukraine In Retaliatory Strikes Over Kerch Bridge Explosion

Russia bombed Kyiv and other cities across Ukraine on Monday (Oct 10) morning in retaliatory strikes a day after President Vladimir Putin declared the Saturday explosion on the Kerch bridge, which links the Crimean peninsula to Russia, as "an act of terror by Ukrainian special services". The bridge is a crucial supply line for Russia's invading forces in southern Ukraine.

Kyiv bore the brunt of the Russian attack as missiles pounded the capital city. It was the fiercest attack on the capital since Russia abandoned an attempt to capture it in the war's early weeks. As volleys of missiles struck the capital, pedestrians huddled for shelter at the entrance of Metro stations and inside parking garages.

Blasts were reported in the city's Shevchenko district, a large area in the centre of Kyiv that includes the historic old town and several government offices, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

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.

After the first early morning strikes in Kyiv, more loud explosions were heard later in the morning in an intensification of Russia's attack that could spell a major escalation in the war.

Following the strikes in Kyiv, several 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.

Explosions were also reported in Lviv, Ternopil and Zhytomyr in Ukraine's west, Dnipro and Kremenchuk in central Ukraine, Zaporizhzhia in the south and Kharkiv in the east.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia timed its strikes on Ukraine on Monday to inflict the greatest possible losses among people and had also targeted the country's energy infrastructure.

"They want panic and chaos, they want to destroy our energy system," Zelenskiy said in a video post that showed him outside his presidential office.

"The second target is people. Such a time and such targets were specially chosen to cause as much damage as possible."

"Please do not leave (bomb) shelters," he wrote. on his Telegram account. "Let's hold on and be strong."

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said 11 infrastructure facilities in eight regions and the capital of Kyiv were damaged in Russian strikes on Monday.

Police said at least five people had been killed and 12 wounded in Kyiv.

The multiple strikes 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 faces battlefield setbacks in areas it is trying to annex amid a Ukrainian counteroffensive in recent weeks.

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.

Russia on Saturday appointed a new general to lead the Ukraine offensive after Moscow suffered a series of military setbacks that triggered criticism of the army's leadership.

(With inputs from PTI)