Ukraine war latest LIVE: Wave of missiles strike Kyiv and other cities as Vladimir Putin issues new warning

Liz Truss and Joe Biden condemn ‘appalling attacks’ but Vladimir Putin promises ‘harsh’ response if Ukrainian ‘terrorist acts’ continue

Kyiv was rocked by large explosions on Monday morning as missiles rained down on cities across Ukraine in apparent retaliation for the attack on a key bridge linking Russia and Crimea.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said there were dead and wounded in blasts that rocked cities across country and accused Russia of trying to wipe his country "off the face of the earth."

“They are trying to destroy us and wipe us off the face of the earth...destroy our people who are sleeping at home in (the city of) Zaporizhzhia. Kill people who go to work in Dnipro and Kyiv,” Mr Zelensky said on the Telegram messaging app.

Prime Minister Liz Truss has condemned the attacks, saying they were “a sign of Ukrainian success and increasing desperation by Putin in response” during a call with Mr Zelensky on Monday afternoon.

US President Joe Biden added: “These attacks killed and injured civilians and destroyed targets with no military purpose.They once again demonstrate the utter brutality of Mr Putin’s illegal war on the Ukrainian people.”

At least ten people have been killed and 60 have been injured, according to latest estimates.

In a speech on Monday, Vladimir Putin confirmed the strikes on a range of locations in Ukraine.

He also promised a “harsh” response to any further “terrorist” acts on Russian territory.

10 October 2022

Pictures: Refugees in Spain and Portugal

Ukrainian refugees in Madrid
Ukrainian refugee Tatyana Bogkova, 32, talks to her daughter Eva, 4, in the flat they share with other Ukrainian refugees in Madrid, Spain
REUTERS
Katherine, 34, Ukrainian refugee, watches the sea in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Katherine, 34, Ukrainian refugee, watches the sea in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
REUTERS
Ukrainian refugee Ihor Ostrovskyi, 57, helps newly-arrived Ukrainian refugees at a support centre in Lisbon
Ukrainian refugee Ihor Ostrovskyi, 57, helps newly-arrived Ukrainian refugees at a support centre in Lisbon
REUTERS
Ukrainian refugees in Madrid
Ukrainian refugee Irina Bilenskaya, 55, plays with her grand- daughter Eva, 4, in the flat they share with other Ukrainian refugees in Madrid, Spain
REUTERS
10 October 2022

At least five killed, 12 wounded in Ukrainian capital - police

At least five people were killed and 12 wounded in Russian missile strikes on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv on Monday, police said.

"Most hits were in the centre of the capital," the police said in a statement on its Facebook page. "At present, it is known that 12 were wounded. Five people were killed."

10 October 2022

Ukraine’s defence ministry ‘will seek revenge’ over Russian missile strikes

Ukraine’s defence ministry said it would seek revenge for Russian missile strikes that hit cities across Ukraine on Monday morning.

“There is sacrifice amongst people and destruction,” the ministry said on its Facebook page. “The enemy will be punished for the pain and death brought upon our land! We will get our revenge!”

10 October 2022

Video: Kyiv rocked by multiple explosions

10 October 2022

Pictures: Attacks on Ukraine

A military strike in central Kyiv
Cars burn after Russian military strikes in central Kyiv
REUTERS
Police block the scene of Russian shelling in Kyiv
AP
Cars sit damaged as underground pipes leak at the scene of a Russian attack on Kyiv
AP
People receive medical treatment on the scene of Russian shelling in Kyiv
AP
10 October 2022

Explosions around Ukraine

An injured man receives medical treatment at the scene of Russian shelling, in the Shevchenko district of Kyiv
AP

Russia's military hurled a barrage of missiles against Ukrainian cities early on Monday, including the capital Kyiv, striking civilian targets in what could be Moscow's retaliation for the bombing of a key bridge connecting Russia to its annexed territory of Crimea.

The first strikes on Kyiv in four months targeted the centre of the city and left dead and wounded, an emergency services spokesman told the Associated Press.

Blasts were reported in the city's Shevchenko district, a large area in the centre of Kyiv that includes the historic old town as well as several government offices, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

Lesia Vasylenko, a member of Ukraine's parliament, posted a photo on Twitter showing that at least one explosion occurred near the main building of the Kyiv National University.

After the first early-morning strikes in Kyiv, more loud explosions were heard later in the morning in an intensification of Russia's attack that could spell a major escalation in the war.

Meanwhile, Associated Press journalists in the centre of Dnipro saw many bodies at an industrial site on the outskirts of the city. Windows in the area had been blown out and glass littered the street.

Ukrainian media also reported explosions in a number of other locations, including the western city of Lviv that has been a refuge for many people fleeing the fighting in the east, as well as Kharkiv, Ternopil, Khmelnytskyi, Zhytomyr and Kropyvnytskyi.

In Lviv, energy infrastructure was hit, regional governor Maksym Kozytskyi said.

The explosions were heard by AP journalists and appeared to be the result of missile strikes.

The multiple strikes came a few hours before Russian President Vladimir Putin was due to hold a meeting with his security council, as Moscow's war in Ukraine approaches its eight-month milestone and the Kremlin reels from humiliating battlefield setbacks in areas it is trying to annex amid a Ukrainian counteroffensive in recent weeks.

A day earlier, Mr Putin had called the attack on the Kerch Bridge to Crimea a terrorist act carried out by Ukrainian special services.

In a meeting on Sunday with the chairman of Russia's Investigative Committee, The Russian leader said "there's no doubt it was a terrorist act directed at the destruction of critically important civilian infrastructure".

10 October 2022

Attack ‘absolute evil’

Ukraine’s general staff said seven anti-aircraft guided missiles were used in the latest attack.

Russian aircraft launched at least 12 missiles in Sunday’s attack, partially destroying a nine-storey apartment block, levelling five other residential buildings and damaging many more, Starukh said on state-run television.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky condemned Sunday’s attack as “absolute evil”.

“This was a deliberate hit. Whoever gave the order and whoever carried it out knew what they were targeting,” he said in a video address.

Zaporizhzhia city, about 52 km (30 miles) from a Russian-held nuclear power plant, has been under frequent shelling in recent weeks, with 19 people killed on Thursday.

Russia denies targeting civilians and Vladimir Rogov, an official in the Russian-installed administration in Zaporizhzhia, said Ukrainian forces had shelled the city for “propaganda purposes”.

Most of the Zaporizhzhia region, including the nuclear plant, have been under Russian control since the early days of Russia’s invasion in February. The capital of the region, Zaporizhzhia city, remains under Ukrainian control.

Russian troops were continuing to focus their efforts on the strategically important eastern town of Bakhmut, having advanced up to 2 km (1.2 miles) towards the town over the last week, a British intelligence update said on Monday. Bakhmut sits on a main road in the industrial Donbas region, which Moscow says it intends to capture.

10 October 2022

Where the fighting is happening

Recent fighting has focused on the regions just north of Crimea, including Zaporizhzhia, where six missiles were launched overnight Saturday from Russian-occupied areas of the Zaporizhzhia region.

The explosions come as Vladimir Putin was set to hold a meeting of his national security council following a humiliating attack which left a strategic bridge in Crimea badly damaged.

Parts of the Kerch bridge lurched into the sea following the blast while Ukrainian forces have been advancing on other fronts across Ukraine.

The bridge, damaged early on Saturday morning, is vital in re-supplying Russian forces operating in Ukraine while the overall poor performance of the country’s miltary has drawn criticism inside the country.

10 October 2022

BBC man runs for cover on air after blast

BBC correspondent Hugo Bachega was reporting when a large noise could be heard and the live broadcast dipped out.

The broadcaster later confirmed he and his crew had reached shelter.

10 October 2022

Russia trying to wipe Ukraine ‘off the face of the earth’, says Zelensky

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said there were dead and wounded in blasts that rocked cities across Ukraine on Monday and accused Russia of trying to wipe his country "off the face of the earth."

"They are trying to destroy us and wipe us off the face of the earth...destroy our people who are sleeping at home in (the city of) Zaporizhzhia. Kill people who go to work in Dnipro and Kyiv," Mr Zelensky said on the Telegram messaging app.

"The air raid sirens do not subside throughout Ukraine. There are missiles hitting. Unfortunately, there are dead and wounded."

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