Follow the latest developments in our live blog below:
19:56
In summary
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A wave of missile strikes hit Kyiv and other major Ukrainian cities on Monday morning
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As well as the capital, explosions were reported in Lviv, Ternopil and Zhytomyr in western Ukraine, Dnipro and Kremenchuk in central Ukraine, Zaporizhzhia in the south and Kharkiv in the east.
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At least 11 people are dead and 64 injured, say Ukrainian authorities
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Euronews’ Nataliia Liubchenkova, reporting from Kyiv, says a sense of anger is prevailing among locals
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Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy says of Moscow “we are dealing with “terrorists”, claiming Russia was targeting Ukraine’s energy system and its people
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Vladimir Putin says strikes are retaliation for the weekend explosion which damaged a bridge linking Russia and Crimea, vowing further action
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Leaders across Europe condemned the strikes, denouncing them as “war crimes”
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Moldova’s deputy PM claims three Russia cruise missiles violated its airspace
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Zelenskyy is to join a videoconference of G7 leaders on Tuesday
20:11
Russia ‘struggling to develop strategic military targets’
European security analyst Ed Arnold of the UK’s Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) says that Russia’s attacks on civilians and energy infrastructure suggests it is having trouble with munitions stocks, or its intelligence is “struggling to develop strategic military targets”.
He also thinks a three-day delay in calling Russia’s National Security Council points to possible disagreements at the top on Moscow’s response.
20:01
Czech protests against Russian attacks
Hundreds of protesters have gathered in the Czech capital to condemn the Russian strikes against multiple cities across Ukraine and demand additional international support for Ukraine’s air defences.
The demonstrators at central Wenceslas Square held up crosses with the names of places hit by the Russian missiles as well as umbrellas symbolising air defences.
Czech political leaders condemned the strikes that hit both civilian and infrastructure targets.
Prime Minister Petr Fiala said they were “not meant to damage military targets. It’s about murdering the civilian population and spreading fear.”
More protests are planned for Tuesday and Saturday.
19:59
Russian commentators praise missile strikes
Russian war bloggers and political commentators lauded Monday’s attacks but and argued that the strikes on energy infrastructure should incur lasting damage to Ukraine.
The hawkish Kremlin-backed leader of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, who has long pushed for ramping up strikes on Ukraine, said he is now “100 percent happy.” He taunted Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, saying “we warned you that Russia hasn’t even started it in earnest.”
Margarita Simonyan, the head of the state-funded RT television, cheered the strikes on her messaging app channel and said Ukraine had crossed a red line that by attacking the bridge to Crimea.
Andrei Kots, a war correspondent for Komsomolskaya Pravda, the top Russian tabloid, voiced hope that Monday’s strikes were “a new mode of action to the entire depth of the Ukrainian state until it loses its capacity to function.”
“It was just one massive attack on Ukraine’s infrastructure,” noted Sergei Markov, a pro-Kremlin Moscow-based political analyst. “The Russian public wants massive attacks and the full destruction of the infrastructure that could be used by the Ukrainian army.”
19:57
Russia prepared to carry out more strikes, warns Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened further attacks on Ukraine after Kyiv and other cities were hit with a barrage of Russian missiles on Monday.
In a video address, Putin said Russia was prepared to carry out more strikes in response to what he deemed to be “terrorist attacks” by Ukraine.
“Russia’s responses will be harsh and in scale will correspond to the level of threats posed to the Russian Federation,” he said, according to Russian state media.
His comments came a day after Putin labelled an attack on the Kerch Bridge a “terrorist act.”
Putin’s warning echoes comments by former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev that ‘more strikes’ were to come for Ukraine.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said that strikes waged against Ukraine on Monday hit all the designated targets.
The ministry spokesman, Lt. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said the Russian military launched “massive strikes on military command and communication facilities and energy infrastructure of Ukraine.”
18:44
Aid halted by today’s attack
Assistance for Ukraine from some international organisations was temporarily stopped on Monday, following multiple Russian strikes.
The Norwegian Refugee Council (NCR) said it halted operations in several Ukrainian cities this morning after they came under attack.
“We cannot aid vulnerable communities when our aid workers are hiding from a barrage of bombs and in fear of repeated attacks,” Jan Egeland, Secretary General of the NRC.
“Protecting civilians from harm and being able to reach them safely with humanitarian aid is our primary concern,” he added. “This must be facilitated and prioritised by all parties to the conflict.”
Other international humanitarian organisations, such as the Red Cross, continued their operations.
Volunteers of the Ukrainian Red Cross Emergency Response Team visited the site of rocket attacks in Kyiv and in other regions of Ukraine, providing first aid and psychological first aid to victims of the bombing.
17:35
Washington condemns ‘Kremlin’s horrific strikes’
This from the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, after speaking with his Ukrainian counterpart:
17:32
Missile attacks ‘unacceptable escalation’, says UN’s Guterres
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is “deeply shocked” by Russia’s most widespread air strikes since the start of the Ukraine war on Monday, a U.N. spokesman said.
“This constitutes another unacceptable escalation of the war and, as always, civilians are paying the highest price,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.
New air raid warning in Kyiv — and latest damage assessment
A second round of air raid sirens rang across Kyiv on Monday afternoon, sending many across the city back underground into shelters following missile strikes earlier in the day.
More air raid sirens also sounded repeatedly across the country on Monday.
Two days after the partial destruction of the Crimean bridge, a slap in the face for President Vladimir Putin, Russia fired 83 missiles at Ukraine, 43 of which were shot down by air defences, according to the Ukrainian Defence Ministry.
The remaining 40 missiles hit numerous energy installations, as well as civilian infrastructure, killing at least 11 people and injuring 64 throughout the country, according to the latest official report.
In downtown Kyiv, at least six people were killed amid burnt-out cars and shattered buildings.
Blasts struck in the capital’s Shevchenko district, a large area in the center of the city that includes the historic old town as well as several government offices, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.
Some of the strikes hit near the government quarter in the symbolic heart of the capital, where parliament and other major landmarks are located. A glass tower housing offices was significantly damaged, most of its blue-tinted windows blown out.
Residents were seen on the streets with blood on their clothes and hands. A young man sat on the ground as a medic wrapped a bandage around his head. A woman with her head bandaged had blood all over the front of her blouse.
Monday, Oct. 10, 2022. Both photos @copyright AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky