Ukraine was under attack again on Monday as Russian missiles hit the capital, Kyiv, soon after 8am local time, and strikes were also reported in cities including Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia and Cherkasy.
Air raid sirens sounded and seven or eight loud explosions were heard in Kyiv and the Kyiv region. The senior presidential adviser Anton Herashchenko said at least 40 Russian cruise missiles had been fired on Ukraine. Several were shot down by air defence systems.
Footage posted by Euromaidan Press shows a cruise missile being intercepted and exploding in midair.
Kyiv’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, said critical infrastructure facilities were struck. “As a result of strikes on critical infrastructure facilities, part of the capital was cut off. There is no water supply in some areas. All services are working,” he said.
Ukraine’s emergency services sent out an all-country alert to citizens’ mobile phones. People were advised to seek shelter in anticipation of more attacks and to follow safety rules.
The strikes appear to be the latest attempt by Russia to destroy key infrastructure before winter. A massive rocket attack on 10 October caused extensive damage in the centre of Kyiv and killed at least 19 people, and there was a kamikaze drone attack a week later. This is the third strike on a Monday morning.
On Saturday, Russia’s Black Sea flagship vessel, the Admiral Makarov, was damaged and possibly disabled during an audacious Ukrainian drone attack on the Crimean port of Sevastopol
The Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko tweeted: “Morning starts with air defence sirens all across Ukraine. Russian missiles hit energy infrastructure in Kyiv and other cities, causing electricity and water outages. Russia is not interested in peace talks, nor in global food security. Putin’s only goal is death and destruction.”
Lesia Vasylenko, an MP, posted: “Kyiv has been under fire for the last hour. Blackouts again. And no water in parts of the city. Putin’s crimes against civilians continue.”