Multiple explosions were reported in Kyiv on Monday morning, according to local officials and footage, marking the first time Ukraine’s capital has been under attack since June 26.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that “several explosions” had taken place in the Shevchenkivskyi district in the heart of the city. Pictures and footage taken by reporters show rubble and vehicles on fire amid rush hour.
Ukrainian emergency services told the BBC the strikes killed and injured a number of people, although it’s still unclear how many.
Local media reported explosions in other cities, including Zaporizhzhia and Dnipro.
Mykhailo Podolyak, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s adviser, denounced “Deliberate attacks on the center of Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia and Dnipro — yet another proof of Kremlin’s terrorist inadequacy.”
“Russia is not capable of fighting on battlefield, but capable of murdering civilians. Instead of talking we need air defense, MLRS, longer-range projectiles,” he added.
The blasts come two days after a strategic bridge linking Crimea to Russia was blown up. Ukraine did not claim responsibility for that attack but many officials celebrated it as a humiliating blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
This article was updated.
