Ukraine war
Putin orders rocket attacks on Ukraine
Black smoke rises over Kyiv after rocket attacks. photo
© —/ukrin/dpa
Many people in the Ukrainian capital were on their way to work when Russian missiles landed. Air alarm is triggered. The war is back in Kyiv.
Russia has fired more than 80 rockets at Kyiv and other cities in Ukraine. The attacks on Monday morning killed at least 11 people across the country and injured at least 87, according to Ukrainian civil defense. According to Mayor Vitaly Klitschko, five people died and 52 were injured in Kyiv alone. Many people were on their way to work.
Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin called the attack a reaction to the “terrorist attacks” against Russian territory. On Saturday, an explosion shook the 19-kilometer bridge that connects Russia and the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, annexed by Moscow in 2014. Russia blames the Ukrainian secret service SBU.
The targets of the precision weapons were the energy infrastructure, military installations and the telecommunications system, Putin said at a meeting of the National Security Council and threatened even tougher action. “No one should have any doubts about that.”
Russia fires 83 missiles
According to Mayor Vitaly Klitschko, the projectiles hit the center of Kyiv. There was an air alert in almost all parts of the country. The electricity and water supply collapsed in some places. In total, Russia fired 83 missiles, 43 of which were intercepted, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense said. After more than five and a half hours, the air alert in Kyiv was lifted.
The Ukrainian secret service SBU has not admitted involvement in the explosion on the Crimean bridge. The SBU headquarters is located in the center of Kiev. Moscow has repeatedly threatened to shell command posts in the Ukrainian capital if the shelling of Russian territory doesn’t stop.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba sharply rejected this. “No, Putin was not “provoked” by the Crimean Bridge to Rocket Terrorism,” he said on Twitter. “Russia kept hitting Ukraine with rockets before the bridge. Putin is desperate because of the defeats on the battlefield and is trying to change the tempo of the war in his favor with rocket terror.”
Crimean bridge strategically very important
The bridge to the Crimea is important as a supply route for the Russian attack. The building also has a high symbolic value for the leadership in Moscow. Putin ordered the attack on Ukraine on February 24. The war will now last almost eight months.
According to Russian sources, the missile strikes are part of the warfare. “All this is happening as part of the military special operation,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the Interfax news agency. Ex-President and Deputy Secretary of the Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, threatened new attacks. “The first episode is over. There will be more.”
Scholz calls Selenskyj
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) called Selenskyj after the attack and assured the solidarity of Germany and the other G7 countries. Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said the G7 states wanted to consult with Zelenskyy in a video conference on Tuesday. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg condemned the attacks on civilian targets and pledged continued support for Ukraine.
Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has promised Kyiv rapid air defense assistance. “We are doing everything we can to quickly strengthen Ukraine’s air defenses,” wrote the Greens politician on Twitter. She spoke with a view to the Russian rocket fire of people in fear of death in the morning traffic in Kiev and an impact crater next to a playground and said: “It is vile and unjustifiable that Putin is shooting at cities and civilians with rockets.”
Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD) had previously reiterated her announcement made a week and a half ago in Odessa: “In the next few days, the first of four state-of-the-art Iris-T SLM air defense systems will be ready to provide effective protection for the people of Ukraine.”
Ukraine asks for missile defense systems
“The best response to Russian missile terror is to supply Ukraine with anti-aircraft and missile defense systems,” said Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov. Russia considers rocket attacks to be an effective means of intimidation. They are not. “They are war crimes.”
EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen has expressed her dismay at the recent Russian attacks on numerous cities in Ukraine. “Putin’s Russia has once again shown the world what it stands for: brutality and terror,” wrote the German politician on Twitter. She added that she knew that the Ukrainians would remain strong.
Von der Leyen reiterated that Ukraine would be assisted for as long as necessary. “By any means we have.” She also expressed her condolences to the victims of the attacks in a video message recorded in Narva, Estonia, near the Russian border.