Many people are on their way to work when the Russian missiles land. The Kremlin chief is carrying out his most far-reaching operation in the Ukraine war to date. At least eleven people died in the mass bombing. The 228th day of the war at a glance:
Zelenskyj: Putin is trying to destroy Ukraine as a state
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke of an “act of terror”. Many people in Kyiv and other cities in Ukraine were on their way to work in the morning when the rockets fell, destroying streets and houses and also setting cars on fire. There was an air alert nationwide. The horror in Ukraine and worldwide was great. “The whole world saw again the true face of a terrorist state that is killing our people,” Zelenskyj said. Russia don’t fight on the battlefield, but attack peaceful cities with rockets. Putin is trying to destroy Ukraine as a state. In talks with Western leaders amid the attacks, the President called for more heavy weapons to rid Ukraine of the Russian aggressor.
Numerous dead, dozens injured
Russia fired more than 80 rockets at Ukrainian cities this Monday. According to Mayor Vitaly Klitschko, 5 people died and 52 were injured in Kyiv alone. Here, the projectiles struck mainly in the center. The air alert in the capital was only lifted after more than five and a half hours. The cities of Dnipro, Zaporizhia and Kryvyi Rih in the east, as well as Lviv, Chemelnytskyi and Schyytomyr in the west and Mykolaiv in the south of the country were also affected by the Russian attacks. The military governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region, Valentyn Resnichenko, spoke of a “massive rocket attack on the area” and complained about the deaths and injuries. According to Ukrainian data, mainly energy infrastructure objects were hit.
Putin speaks of reaction to “terrorist attacks”
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. Putin blamed the Ukrainian secret service SBU on Sunday. He did not admit his involvement in the explosion, but made fun of the burning building, which is a project close to Putin’s heart.
Kyiv: Kremlin planned shelling even before bridge explosion
According to Ukrainian information, Russia has been planning heavy rocket fire on Ukrainian cities since the beginning of October – and thus even before the explosion on the Crimean bridge a few days ago. This was announced by the military intelligence service in Kyiv. Russian forces received instructions from the Presidential Office on October 2 and 3 to prepare for massive rocket attacks on Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure, the intelligence service said. Objects of critical civil infrastructure and the central areas of densely populated Ukrainian cities were identified as targets.
Federal government pledges support to Ukraine
The federal government and many other states have again pledged their support to Ukraine. Chancellor Olaf Scholz phoned Selenskyj after the attack and promised solidarity from Germany and the other G7 countries. Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock wrote on Twitter: “We are doing everything we can to quickly strengthen the Ukrainian air defense.” Looking at the Russian rocket fire from people in mortal fear in the morning traffic in Kiev and an impact crater next to a playground, she emphasized: “It is vile and unjustifiable that Putin is shooting rockets at large cities and civilians.”
NATO wants to support Kyiv to “fight against Kremlin aggression”
The severe Russian attacks also provoked outrage in NATO and the EU: he spoke to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and “condemned Russia’s terrible and indiscriminate attacks on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine,” NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg wrote on Twitter. NATO will continue to support Ukraine in fighting “the Kremlin’s aggression for as long as it takes”. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell also condemned the attacks “strongly”. He was deeply shocked. “Such acts have no place in the 21st century.”
Melnyk calls Russia’s nuclear weapons threat real
The Ambassador of Ukraine in Germany, Andriy Melnyk, describes today’s rocket attacks on Ukraine as the “second worst day” since the beginning of the war. “People died in the early morning rush hour, and I think that should also be a warning signal for many Germans that something else should be done, and also with this Russia, which is increasingly becoming a terrorist state, should be handled differently,” says Melnyk ntv. There are also “huge concerns” about Russia’s threats to use nuclear weapons. Unfortunately, this danger is real. Today has shown that Russian President Vladimir Putin is apparently capable of anything. “From our point of view, it is now up to the world’s nuclear powers to make it clear to him, Mr. Putin, that he shouldn’t dare to take this step, that the price will then be enormous for him.”
Kyiv calls for saving electricity
After the heavy air raids, the Ukrainian leadership appealed to the population to switch off electrical devices in the evening so as not to overload the power grid. “Because of today’s shelling, we urge everyone to limit energy consumption between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. if possible,” Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy chief of the presidential office, wrote on Telegram. This is the only way to survive the peak load period without further shutdowns. The representative of the Ukrainian President in Parliament, Andriy Herus, warned of one of the “hardest evenings” for the Ukrainian energy supply. In some regions there will be no electricity at all, in others the electricity will be switched off for a certain period of time.
Russian President threatens even tougher action
Meanwhile, Putin said at a National Security Council meeting that the targets of the “precision weapons” were energy infrastructure, military installations and telecommunications. The 70-year-old threatened even tougher action. “No one should have any doubts about that.” The missiles were fired from the Black Sea, from air force bombers and from the ground.
Medvedev is also threatening again: “The first episode is over. There will be more”
On Sunday evening, Putin’s confidant, ex-President Dmitry Medvedev, threatened to strike Ukraine. This Monday, after the massive shelling, he issued new threats in the direction of Kyiv. “The first episode is over. There will be more,” Medvedev, who is Deputy Secretary of the Security Council, wrote on Telegram. The Ukrainian state in its current form is a constant threat to Russia. Therefore, the political leadership of the neighboring country must be completely eliminated, stressed Medvedev. This is his “personal position”.
Moscow: “The aim of the blow was achieved”
The Russian Defense Ministry, however, described the massive rocket attacks on Kyiv and other major Ukrainian cities as a success. “The aim of the strike was achieved. All designated targets were hit,” Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said.
Kadyrov satisfied with rocket attacks – “Bum-Zelenskyj” should run
Chechen ruler Ramzan Kadyrov also expressed his satisfaction. “What did you think Penner-Zelenskyj: You are allowed and others are not,” he wrote on his Telegram channel to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj. Kadyrov accused the leadership in Kyiv of the long-term bombardment of the Donbass region in eastern Ukraine and explained: “Well, now I’m 100 percent satisfied with the execution of the military special operation.” Kadyrov urged Zelenskyy to flee. “We warned you, Zelenskyy, that Russia hasn’t even really started yet. So stop whining like crazy and run until it hits you.”
Ukraine categorically rejects Putin’s terror allegations
Ukraine once again made it clear that it was not provoking Russia, but that Moscow was waging a war against the country, which is striving to join the EU and NATO. “No, Putin was not “provoked” by the Crimean bridge to rocket terror,” Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Twitter. “Russia kept hitting Ukraine with rockets before the bridge. Desperate because of defeats on the battlefield, Putin is trying to use rocket terror to change the pace of the war in his favor.”
New commander of Russian troops in action for the first time
To the delight of the radical forces, Army General Sergei Surovikin was deployed on Putin’s behest on Saturday. The 55-year-old is considered particularly brutal – and above all as an officer with extensive experience in wars, including in Syria and before that in the Russian republic of Chechnya in the North Caucasus. For Surovikin, this Monday with the bombings was the first working day at a new post. The “hero of Russia” is supposed to turn the tide in the war for Putin after the Ukrainian army’s defensive offensive and the recapture of many towns.
war widens
The government of the Republic of Moldova accused Russia of violating Moldovan airspace in the rocket attacks. In Belarus, ruler Alexander Lukashenko announced the formation of a regional military unit of the country’s armed forces with the Russian army. He had agreed this with Putin, said Lukashenko, who had previously made his military bases available to the Russian armed forces. Ukraine already sees Belarus as a war party.
All further developments can You in our live ticker read.