In apparent revenge for the attack against the bridge linking Crimea and the Russian mainland, Russia launched a massive missile strike Monday morning across Ukraine.
At least 8 people were killed in the attack on Kyiv’s capital. The office of President Volodymyr Zelensky was also hit. This coordinated and intense blitz seemed to be in retaliation to Saturday’s bombing attack on the strategic Kerch Bridge.
Ukraine News reported that five missiles were fired at the center of Kyiv, while another strike hit what it called a “thermal power station” in Lviv.
The site tweeted that “There is no power at Lviv, and Internet not working Internet traffic has dropped by 75%.” According to the site, the European Union was moving personnel out of the country.
Kiev got bombed
5 missiles targeted centre of #Kiev
Missile defense could only intercept one#Zaporizhzhia #Zaporizhzhya #CrimeanBridge pic.twitter.com/4Dtyt1uCgI— UkraineNews (@Ukraine66251776) October 10, 2022
Monday morning was filled with images and videos from Kyiv, showing the destruction of buildings, bodies, and cars. The destroyed power plant in Lviv was visible as black smoke rising from the city, Ukraine’s seventh largest and only 45 miles from Poland’s border to the west.
Zelensky, who saw the destruction in Kyiv’s streets early Monday morning, stated that Russia was targeting civilians to “sow panic, chaos.”
He said, “They are trying to wipe us off of the face of the earth.”
According to the Ukrainian military, 75 Russian missiles have been fired on cities across Ukraine since February’s Russian invasion. Zelensky stated that missiles, rockets, and drones were used against significant cities such as Dnipro and Zaporizhzhia. Sumy was also mentioned.
Denys Shmyhal, the Ukrainian Prime Minister, stated that 11 critical infrastructure facilities had been damaged. However, he didn’t give any further details. Several cities across the nation experienced power outages and water shortages.
Thermo Power Plant-6 in Kiev hit pic.twitter.com/fCK6lRDwWt
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) October 10, 2022
This was Russian President Vladimir Putin’s likely retaliation to Saturday’s bombing of the bridge linking Crimea (a prized peninsula Russia reclaimed in 2014. However, it remains disputed territory). It spans 11 miles. Putin, visibly furious, called the attack on the bridge “acts of terrorism”.
Putin stated Sunday that there was no doubt, just hours before the terrible attack. “This terrorist act aims to destroy critical infrastructure.”
Alexander Baskin, a member of Russia’s parliament, warned that Russia would respond “asymmetrically” to the attack on the bridge. He said the attack was “a declaration of war without rules,” according to the Mirror.
Putin is being pressured by Russia because his war against Ukraine continues to go wrong. He blames Ukrainian special forces for the destruction of the bridge. International fears that Putin could use nuclear weapons against his neighboring country have grown as he becomes more volatile. This is especially after he reminded the entire world via video that the U.S. used nukes to end World War II.
