The Russian army has carried out a massive rocket attack on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv and other cities in the country. In Kyiv, targets were hit in the center, Klitschko told Telegram on Monday. He urged people to seek shelter. Russia is trying to destroy Ukraine, said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The target was people in several cities who were on their way to work. “Unfortunately, there are dead and injured,” said Zelenskyj.
Eyewitnesses reported that explosions continued to be heard in Kyiv after the first hits in the morning. Emergency services treated the injured and extinguished burning cars, as could be seen on videos from the capital. According to the Kiev police, at least five people died and twelve were injured. Rocket attacks have also been reported in other parts of Ukraine.
Air alert was in effect in almost all parts of Ukraine. “A massive rocket attack on the area, there are dead and wounded,” said the military governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region around the industrial city of Dnipro, Valentin Resnichenko, on his Telegram channel. The authorities in Lviv, Khmelnytskyi and Zhytomyr also report impacts.
The air alert continues to apply in the capital Kyiv, said Klitschko. Citizens should definitely stay in bunkers, he stressed. The city center should be avoided. “The streets in the center are blocked by security forces, rescue services are on duty,” said Klitschko.
There were several impacts, a correspondent from the German Press Agency reported in the center. The situation was therefore unclear. According to observations by the dpa correspondent in the center, a fireball could be seen in the sky. Clouds of smoke could be seen in photos and videos shared on social networks. Other eyewitnesses reported three to four impacts. The exact number was unclear.
Earlier, the Deputy Head of the Russian Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, threatened Ukraine with retaliation for the explosion on the Crimean bridge, which is strategic for Russia, on Saturday. Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin spoke of a “terrorist attack” on the bridge on Sunday and – like the media in Kyiv – blamed the Ukrainian secret service SBU. However, the SBU had not confirmed an involvement.
The SBU headquarters is located in the city center in Kyiv. The power center in Moscow has repeatedly threatened to target command posts in the Ukrainian capital if the shelling of Russian territory does not stop. Kyiv has been hit by Russian missiles several times since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression. It was the worst incident of its kind and the first attack on the city in months.
“One of the rockets landed near the Grushevsky monument on Volodymyr Street. Rescuers are at work,” Interior Ministry adviser Anton Gerashchenko said. Volodymyr Street is right in the center of Kiev.
In these Twitter videos verified by Stern, the alleged rocket impact can be seen from two perspectives just next to a pedestrian bridge. In the background of the first clip you can see the Arch of Freedom of the Ukrainian people. The massive monument used to commemorate the Ukrainian-Russian friendship and was renamed only after the start of the war on February 24 this year.
Medvedev said on Sunday: “All reports and conclusions have been made. Russia’s answer to this crime can only be the direct annihilation of the terrorists.” He expressed himself in an interview with the Kremlin journalist Nadana Friedrichson. “This is what the citizens of Russia are waiting for,” he said ahead of a scheduled Security Council meeting this Monday that Putin will chair.
On Saturday morning, an explosion shook the 19-kilometer bridge that connects Russia and the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, annexed by Moscow in 2014. Around seven and a half months after the start of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, the building, which is strategically and symbolically important for Russia, was severely damaged. According to official information from Moscow, three people died.
The Ukrainian governor Resnichenko called on the residents of the Dnipropetrovsk region to stay in the bomb shelters. According to reports, not only the regional capital of Dnipro was hit, but also the cities of Nikopol and Marhanets, which are across the Dnipro River from the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant. In the city of Zaporizhia there was also an air alert in the morning after the nightly rocket attacks.
Officials said four people died in a rocket attack in the eastern Ukrainian city of Sloviansk in the Donetsk region. The impact happened in the city center, said Mayor Wadym Lyach. Heavy explosions could be heard in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, Mayor Andriy Sadovy said. The power went out in several parts of the city.
“Explosions can be heard in the Khmelnytskyi region. The anti-aircraft defense is deployed,” said the local governor, Serhiy Hamalij. He did not provide any information about possible victims. The media also report explosions in Zhytomyr. Both regions are west of Kyiv.
This article is continuously updated.
