Large explosions rock Kyiv and other major Ukrainian cities as Russia fires dozens of missiles

Europe, News October 10, 2022 , by IRIA No Comments

Updated on October 11, 2022.

Major Ukrainian cities including Kyiv, Lviv, Ternopil, and Dnipro woke up to large explosions on October 10, 2022. The Russian missiles targeted the Ukrainian capital’s prominent urban infrastructures.

This is the first time in several weeks that such attacks have been reported from major Ukrainian cities. Russia had abandoned its advances towards Kyiv due to the fierce resistance that it faced from Ukrainian forces. Moscow seemed content on capturing Eastern territories as it has been focusing on the Donbas region which is made up of Luhansk and Donetsk.

Mayor of Kyiv Vitali Klitschko confirmed the attack on his city without giving any details about the casualties or number of injured citizens. He wrote that “several explosions in the Shevchenskivskyi district – in the center of the capital.”

Some sources suggest that the Ukrainian capital was targeted with at least four missiles while several missiles were fired by the Russian side at other major cities. Ukrainian military claimed that Russia fired more than 80 missiles toward Ukraine by October 10 afternoon.

According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia launched “High-precision ground, sea and air-based wing missiles” and 12 Iranian Shahed-136 kamikaze drones.

The Ukrainian air defense system shot down 41 Russian missiles, however, the remaining missiles fell in different cities in Ukraine resulting in deaths and injuries. According to Ukrainian emergency services officials, at least 19 people have been killed and 105 wounded in different locations including road intersections, parks, and tourist sites.

*^{A damaged tower block at the scene of Russian shelling in Kyiv, Ukraine on October 10, 2022. (Image Credit: AP/Efrem Lukatsky)}*

Ukraine’s neighboring country of Moldova confirmed that at least three cruise missiles crosses its airspace and were fired from a Russian ship in the Black Sea. Moldova’s foreign minister Nicu Popescu wrote on Twitter that he has summoned Russia’s ambassador for an explanation. He said, “Three cruise missiles launched on Ukraine this morning from Russian ships in the Black Sea crossed Moldova’s airspace.”

Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba made an immediate appeal to its allies for the supply of increased air defense systems in the wake of missile attacks on Ukrainian cities. He posted a tweet stating that he spoke to his Canadian counterpart Mélanie Joly, and stressed that “partners should join forces to immediately provide Ukraine with air and missile defense systems.”

In response to the Russian missile attacks, U.S. President Joe Biden said in the statement that “These attacks only further reinforce our commitment to stand with the people of Ukraine for as long as it takes.”

Biden also held a phone talk with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to express his “condemnation of Russia’s missile strikes across Ukraine”. The U.S. president also conveyed his condolences to the loved ones of those killed and injured in the Russian attacks, the White House statement read.

*^{Police inspect the scene of Russian shelling in Kyiv, Ukraine on October 10, 2022. (Image Credit: AP/Efrem Lukatsky)}*

Ukraine had been bracing for a hard retaliation from the Russian side since the blast that brought down part of the Kerch bridge linking the Crimean peninsula to the Russian mainland. Ukraine never claimed the responsibility for the explosion, but the reaction of Ukrainian officials suggested that the blast was no accident.

Russia claimed that the attack on the Krech Bridge was an “act of terror”. Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, “The reaction of the Kyiv regime to the destruction of civilian infrastructure testifies to its terrorist nature.”

This is the first major attack on Ukrainian cities since Russia appointed its Air Force Chief, General Sergei Surovikin, as the commander to oversee the war in Ukraine. Surovikin has previously led Russian forces in Syria. He was in charge of operations that lead to the heavy bombardment and eventually the destruction of Aleppo city.