The Ukrainian capital was hit by at least four missiles on Monday morning, the first strikes in months, as other Ukrainian cities came under Russian attack after Saturday’s massive explosion hit a key Russian bridge in Crimea. Guardian reporters in Kyiv heard several rockets fly overhead with at least one hitting, while a fourth explosion was heard moments later. Ukrainians were bracing for harsh Russian retaliation after an explosion tore down part of the Kerch bridge linking the occupied Crimean peninsula with the Russian mainland early Saturday. Among the targets hit overnight were the city of Zaporizhzhia which was hit for the third night in a row and the port city of Mykolaiv. The strikes follow reports of increased activity by Russian strategic bombers with some of the missiles launched from the Caspian Sea region. Important events Show only key events Please enable JavaScript to use this feature
Zelensky: “They are trying to destroy us and wipe us off the face of the earth”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy responded to the series of attacks this morning in Ukrainian cities. He posted on Telegram: They are trying to destroy us and wipe us off the face of the earth. Destroy our people sleeping at home in Zaporizhzhia. Kill people who go to work in Dnipro and Kyiv. The air alert remains intact across Ukraine. There are projectiles that hit. Unfortunately there are dead and injured. Please do not leave shelters. Take care of yourself and your loved ones. Let’s hold on and be strong. The message was accompanied by a video clip showing the aftermath of the strike in Kyiv, showing damaged cars, buildings with broken windows and fires burning in the street. The US ambassador to Ukraine, Bridget A Brink, described this morning’s attack in Kyiv as a sign of Russia’s escalation of its “barrage of attacks against Ukrainian civilians”. Multiple strikes in central Kyiv and across Ukraine this morning. Russia is escalating its barrage of attacks against Ukrainian civilians. — Ambassador Bridget A. Brink (@USAmbKyiv) October 10, 2022 Oleksiy Kuleba, governor of Kyiv, issued the following update on the situation on Telegram, writing: The air attack continues, I ask everyone to stay calm and stay in shelters. Air defense works in the area. There is information about fallen objects. I emphasize that the air traffic alert is still in progress. Don’t ignore it and stay covered. Do not photograph or film landing sites or damaged infrastructure. People’s lives depend on it. Let’s hold on.
Kyiv has been targeted by at least four missiles as other Ukrainian cities come under Russian attack
Peter Beaumont The Ukrainian capital was hit by at least four missiles on Monday morning, the first strikes in months, as other Ukrainian cities came under Russian attack after Saturday’s massive explosion hit a key Russian bridge in Crimea. Guardian reporters in Kyiv heard several rockets fly overhead with at least one hitting, while a fourth explosion was heard moments later. Ukrainians were bracing for harsh Russian retaliation after an explosion tore down part of the Kerch bridge linking the occupied Crimean peninsula with the Russian mainland early Saturday. Among the targets hit overnight were the city of Zaporizhzhia which was hit for the third night in a row and the port city of Mykolaiv. The strikes follow reports of increased activity by Russian strategic bombers with some of the missiles launched from the Caspian Sea region. Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi announced on Telegram that schools will be closed today and classes will be held via distance learning. He also said there were temporary outages in mobile communications. Matthew Luxmoore, who is a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, posted this video clip of what he says is Shevchenko Park in downtown Kyiv. He said it is “probably the busiest park in the city, usually full of people and street musicians”. The video shows a large crater near what appears to be children’s play equipment. Oliver Carroll, who is a foreign correspondent for the Economist, shared this camera footage purportedly showing the immediate aftermath of the strike in the Ukrainian capital. Carroll also commented “It’s hard to understate the cynicism of targeting a capital city during the Monday morning rush hour. It’s an act of desperation, of course.” The city’s mayor, Andriy Sadovyi, posted on Telegram that explosions were heard in Lviv and warned residents to take shelter. At the same time, Vitaliy Kim, governor of Mykolaiv, posted that his region was experiencing a second wave of rocket launches. More details soon… There are currently reports of explosions in several cities across Ukraine, with Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Khmelnytskyi, Dnipro and Ternopil mentioned as targets on social media and Telegram channels. A video circulating appears to show damage to civilian buildings in Dnipro. There are also unconfirmed reports of explosions in Lviv. If that was the case, it marks a significant increase this morning in Russian attacks on towns far from the front lines in occupied eastern Ukraine. One of the Guardian’s correspondents, Peter Beaumont, says four rockets were fired at Kyiv this morning, with “a few intercepted”. Four rockets have so far been fired this morning towards Kyiv, some of which have been intercepted — petersbeaumont (@petersbeaumont1) October 10, 2022 This video clip, which has been circulating on social media, appears to show that you can hear the strike in Kyiv this morning, as the BBC broadcast live from the area. The FT’s Christopher Miller confirms there are reports of dead and injured after Russia hit central Kiev for the first time in weeks with a rocket attack. The center of Kyiv was hit, right next to Shevchenko Park. The closest strike to the heart of Kiev and the government quarter yet, and the first against it in many weeks. The missile hit a major intersection during the morning rush hour. State of emergency says dead + injured. — Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) October 10, 2022 A Russian missile reportedly landed on a street in the city of Kiev near a monument to Khrushchev, according to a senior presidential adviser. Anton Gerashchenko, a senior Ukrainian adviser to the interior minister, made the claim via his Telegram account this morning along with images purported to be from the scene. Ukrainian MP Oleksiy Goncharenko added that a missile landed “right in the center of the city”. “Cars are on fire and windows in houses are broken. There are dead,” he tweeted this morning. Kyiv. The rocket fell right in the center of the city. Cars are burning and windows have been smashed in houses. There are dead pic.twitter.com/mhbyexsIFe — Oleksiy Goncharenko (@GoncharenkoUa) October 10, 2022 We have some details on the recent reported explosions heard in Kyiv this morning. Local media reports that a series of explosions were heard around 8.30am. At least four explosions were heard with smoke rising from an area in the city center, the Kyiv Independent reports. According to public broadcaster Suspilne, an explosion is believed to have been heard near a train station in the city. An air alert has been declared in the city and the surrounding area. ⚡️Explosions in Kyiv. At least four explosions were heard around the city center in the early morning of October 10. Smoke was reported rising from a point in the center of the city. — The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) October 10, 2022
