Kyiv rocked by blasts as Russia launches missile barrage at several cities
Lviv, Ukraine, Oct 10 (EFE).- Ukraine’s capital Kyiv and several major cities across the country were targeted by Russian bombardment on Monday morning, causing widespread damage and an unconfirmed number of civilian casualties.
The bombings come a day after Russia’s president Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine of staging a blast on the Crimean Bridge on Saturday, describing it as an “act of terror.”
Several powerful explosions were heard on Monday morning in central districts of Kyiv as Moscow’s forces carried out their heaviest strikes on the capital in months.
Kyiv mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said in a Telegram post that emergency services had been dispatched to areas of the city hit by the Russian missiles, which included the Shevchenkivsky district, home to universities, bars and the city’s iconic golden dome churches.
Unverified videos on social media showed the impact of a missile on the city’s Shevchenko Park.
Missile strikes were also reported in Lviv, which in the early days of the invasion became a refuge for internally displaced Ukrainians given its western location near the Polish border, far from the front lines.
Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyi, Mykolaiv and others were also reportedly targeted in the wave of attacks, which prompted air raid sirens across the nation.
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a social media post Monday that there were “dead and wounded” as a result of the Russian barrage.
“They are trying to destroy us and wipe us off the face of the earth. Destroy our people who are sleeping at home in Zaporizhzhia. Kill people on their way to work in Dnipro and Kyiv,” read a statement posted alongside a video montage showing the effects of the missile strikes. EFE
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