Multiple explosions rocked Kyiv on Monday, shattering months of relative calm in the Ukrainian capital.
At least 8 people were killed and 24 others injured after Russian missile attacks hit the city, Ukrainian officials said.
NBC News has not verified the claims.
The blasts came hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine of “terrorism” after the bridge connecting Russia and annexed Crimea was severely damaged in a huge explosion that dealt a strategic and symbolic blow to the Kremlin.
After Putin’s comments Sunday, Ukraine was braced for retaliation that appeared to arrive early Monday.
A number of blasts were heard in the center of Kyiv at rush hour by NBC News. Smoke was seen rising off buildings, while local officials shared photos showing incinerated cars and a cratered children’s park. Residents were sent scrambling for shelter in underground subway stations, while air raid sirens sounded in other major cities across the country.
“On the 229th day, they are trying to destroy us and wipe us off the face of the earth,” said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Telegram.
The city’s mayor, Vitalii Klitchko, said the explosions occurred in the central distinct of Shevchenko, where several key government offices are located. Explosions were also heard in Solomyansky district in western Kyiv, he said.
“The capital is under attack from Russian terrorists! The rockets hit objects in the city center,” he said on Telegram.
“The air alert, and therefore the threat, continues,” he said, advising residents to remain in the shelters. Central streets of the city had been blocked by law enforcement officers and rescue services had been deployed, he said.
Rostislav Smirnov, an adviser to the Minister of Internal Affairs, said on Telegram that at least 8 people had been killed and 24 injured.
Explosions were also reported in areas of central Ukraine and in the country’s west. Five explosions were also heard in Kharkiv, in the northeast, by NBC News.
Air defenses were also working in Lviv, head of the local administration Maksym Kozytskyi said on Telegram. Earlier, overnight shelling had destroyed a multi-story residential building in Zaporizhzhia, reported the regional administrative head Oleksandr Starukh.
Daryna Mayer, Mariia Ulianovska, Lawahez Jabari and Artem Grudinin contributed.