Last Updated on October 10, 2022
The Russian government launched dozens of precision drone and missile strikes on Ukrainian military, infrastructure and transportation targets in multiple cities. Strikes were reported in Kharkiv, Lviv, and the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, among dozens of additional municipalities. While infrastructure and government targets were indeed hit, the Ukrainian government has also accused Russia of deliberately targeting civilian areas. In an address to his security council, Vladimir Putin claimed that the attacks were launched in response to “terrorist” attacks on Russian infrastructure, including a key bridge in Crimea.
A spokesperson for the Emergency Service in Kyiv told the Associated Press that at least 11 people have been killed and 64 wounded in Kyiv, though that figure is expected to rise. At least 12 missiles reportedly hit Kyiv alone, where thick black smoke could be seen billowing from the city’s center on Monday morning.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the rockets hit several areas but in particular targeted Kyiv’s Shevchenko district, a large area located in the city’s center, and the Solomianskyi district in the west. The city’s subway temporarily stopped running but later resumed, he added.
Ukrainian officials, including President Zelensky, have urged civilians to avoid travel to major cities in wake of the strikes.
The Ukrainian government has accused Russia of targeting civilian areas in Kyiv. 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.”
Power and water services have been impacted in Kyiv, officials said.
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Beyond Kyiv, Russian strikes were recorded in at least eight additional cities. Ukraine’s emergency service said the Kremlin attacked cities across Ukraine, including Lviv, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyi, Chernihiv and Zhytomyr. Zelensky said in an address that strikes also hit Vinnytsia and Zaporizhzhia in addition to other regions, The Hill reported.
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.
The General Staff of the Ukraine Armed Forces said in a statement that Russian forces used 84 winged missiles and 24 unmanned aircraft. Roughly half of the strikes were carried out with Iranian-made Kamikaze drones, which have been appearing on the battlefield with increasing frequency in recent weeks.
Ukrainian defense officials have claimed that 54 aerial targets were shot down by the nation’s air defenses.
“Our courage will never be destroyed by terrorist’s missiles, even when they hit the heart of our capital,” Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said in a statement. “Nor will they shake the determination of our allies. The only thing they demolish irreversibly is the future of Russia — a future of a globally despised rogue terrorist state.”
The regions of Lviv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Ternopil, Poltava, Zhytomyr and Kiev all reported severe blackouts and interruptions in electricity. pic.twitter.com/CsakTOnIvW
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Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that the strikes were launched in retaliation for what he called Kyiv’s “terrorist” actions, including the recent bombing of the Kerch bridge in Crimea. The bridge was hit with what appeared to be a boat-based drone explosive, which caused a partial collapse in one of the vehicle lanes.
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, the AP reported.
Western leaders have condemned the “barbaric” strikes launched by the Russian MOD. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s spokesman, Steffen Hebestreit, said the Group of Seven (G-7) industrial powers will hold a videoconference Tuesday on the situation which Zelenskyy will address. Germany currently chairs the G-7.
French President Emanuel Macron expressed “extreme concern.” British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly tweeted that “Russia’s firing of missiles into civilian areas of Ukraine is unacceptable,” the AP reported.
“Russia once again has shown to the world what it stands for. It is terror and brutality,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
European and American defense officials have expressed concern that Russia is upping the intensity of its Ukraine campaign, which will soon surpass the eight-month mark. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko announced Monday that he and Putin have agreed to deploy a joint “regional grouping of troops” amid the escalation of fighting in Ukraine.
Lukashenko claimed that Kyiv is planning “terrorist” actions against Belarus, prompting fears of another front.
Zelensky is set to address the G-7 on Tuesday.
