Early Monday morning, Russia kicked off a massively destructive barrage of missile strikes across Ukraine, hitting all major cities such as Kyiv in seemingly apparent revenge for the attack carried out on the primary bridge connecting the Russian mainland to the peninsula of Crimea.
Roughly 83 missiles crashed into various cities across Ukraine, including several that landed within the capital, where eight people have been killed and the office of President Volodymyr Zelensky was reportedly struck. The extreme and coordinated assault seemed to be a case of retaliation for the bombing of the strategic Kerch Bridge on Saturday.
It was reported by Ukraine News that a total of five missiles slammed into the center of Kyiv and another attack destroyed what is being described as a “thermal power plant” located in Lviv.
“There is no power in Lviv and internet not working Internet traffic in Ukraine has dropped by 75%,” the site reported via social media. The site made the claim that the European Union was currently pulling personnel from the country.
#Lviv : Russian missile strikes hit the thermal power plant.
There is no power in Lviv and internet not working
Internet traffic in Ukraine has dropped by 75% ⬇️⬇️EU has asked all it's embassy staff to vacate #Ukraine as fast as possible. ⚠️⚠️⚠️ pic.twitter.com/Habfp1a3LX
— UkraineNews (@Ukraine66251776) October 10, 2022
This past Monday morning, social media sites were drowned in pictures and videos from Kyiv highlighting the damaged buildings, burning cars, and dead bodies. Thick black smoke could be seen all along the skyline from the power plant that was struck in Lviv, the seventh-largest city in Ukraine and sits only 45 miles from the Polish border to the west.
In the wake of surveying the destruction that had swept across the streets of Kyiv, Zelensky stated that Russia was now explicitly targeting civilians in order to “sow panic and chaos.”
“They are trying to wipe us off the face of the earth,” he stated.
Members of the Ukrainian military stated that over 75 missiles had been fired targeting cities across the country, which Russia officially invaded back in February. Zelensky stated that rockets, missiles, and drones had been utilized against major cities such as Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, Sumy, and even the western cities of Lviv and Ternopil.
Denys Shmyhal, the Ukrainian Prime Minister, stated that roughly 11 major infrastructure facilities had been hit, although he did not give additional details. Cities across the struggling country have been reporting severe power outages and shortages of water.
Thermo Power Plant-6 in Kiev hit pic.twitter.com/fCK6lRDwWt
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) October 10, 2022
The devastating offensive was most likely the response from Russian President Vladimir Putin to the bombing, which took place this past Saturday, of the massive 11-mile-long bridge connecting Crimea, which is known to be an important piece of territory that Russia took back in 2014 but still remains disputed, to the Russian mainland. An obviously angry Putin labeled the bridge attack an “act of terrorism.”
“There is no doubt,” stated Putin on Sunday, hours prior to the horrendous assault. “This is an act of terrorism aimed at destroying critically important civilian infrastructure.”
Alexander Baskin, a member of the Russian parliament, claimed that the response from Russia would be “asymmetric,” stating the bridge attack was “a declaration of war without rules,” reported the Mirror.
