Russia Bombs Cities Across Ukraine, Civilians Dead

In what could be an apparent revenge strike, Russia bombed cities across Ukraine during rush hour on Monday morning, killing civilians and destroying infrastructure in apparent revenge. According to Reuters reports, these missile attacks have killed 5 civilians in Kyiv. 

Missiles tore into Kyiv. In Kyiv, attacks struck in the heart of the busy city centre. The body of a man in jeans lay in a street at a major intersection, surrounded by flaming cars. In a park, a soldier cut through the clothes of a woman who lay in the grass to try to treat her wounds. Another woman was bleeding nearby. City police said at least five people had been killed and 12 wounded. A huge crater gaped next to a children’s playground in a central Kyiv park. The remains of an apparent missile were buried, smoking in the mud.

These are the most intense strikes on the capital since Russia abandoned an attempt to capture it in the early weeks of the war. These are apparent revenge strikes following an explosion on the Russia-Crimea bridge. Russia President Vladimir Putin declared this explosion on the bridge to Crimea to be a terrorist attack.

The 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. A witness in Russia’s Belgorod region near the Ukrainian border also heard a blast from the border area. More volleys of missiles struck the capital again later in the morning. Pedestrians huddled for shelter at the entrance of Metro stations and inside parking garages.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy responded over the missile strikes by Russia. “They are trying to destroy us and wipe us off the face of the earth,” President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on the Telegram messaging app. “The air raid sirens do not subside throughout Ukraine. There are missiles hitting. Unfortunately, there are dead and wounded.”

Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted: “Putin’s only tactic is terror on peaceful Ukrainian cities, but he will not break Ukraine down. This is also his response to all appeasers who want to talk with him about peace: Putin is a terrorist who talks with missiles.”