Russian President Vladimir Putin, retaliated on Monday, by unleashing its biggest and most widespread attacks against Ukraine in months, following a terrorist attack on Kerch bridge.
Series of missile strikes hit cities across Ukraine on Monday, including heart of Kyiv, the capital, and other areas far from the front line.
The attack has been described as the broadest aerial assault against civilians and critical infrastructure since the early days of Moscow’s invasion.
Russia’s attacks killed at least 11 people nationwide and wounded 89 others, the Ukrainian authorities said, and knocked out power and other key services in multiple cities.
Mr. Putin said the strikes were in response to a blast that hit a key Russian bridge over the weekend, which he called a “terrorist attack.”
According to AFP, 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.
But the intense hours-long barrage on major cities hit residential areas and critical infrastructure facilities alike, portending a major surge in the war amid a successful Ukrainian counteroffensive in recent weeks.
Though some missiles apparently targeted energy facilities, others struck civilian areas during the morning rush-hour.
One hit a playground in downtown Kyiv and another struck a central building of a local university.
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.”
The Ukrainian General Staff said 84 cruise missiles and 24 drones were use in the barrage. Ukrainian forces shot down 56 aerial targets, it said.
Putin, whose partial mobilization order earlier this month triggered an exodus of hundreds of thousands of men of fighting age from Russia, stopped short of declaring martial law or a counterterrorism operation as many had expected.
Moscow’s war in Ukraine is approaching its eight-month milestone, and the Kremlin has been reeling from humiliating battlefield setbacks in areas of eastern Ukraine it is trying to annex.
AFP