Missiles began to rain on Ukrainian cities in the early hours of Monday morning, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
At least eight civilians killed in Kyiv
In the capital Kyiv, rockets fell on the central Shevchenkivskyi District, killing at least eight people and injuring at least 24, Rostyslav Smirnov, the advisor to Ukraine’s Interior Minister, announced, as cited by the Kyiv Independent website.
The official added in a Facebook post that 30 emergency service workers and six response units attended the scene in the Shevchenkivskyi neighborhood, according to British broadcaster the BBC.
Meanwhile, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, Deputy Head of the Office of President Volodymyr Zelensky, said that Russian missiles struck a children's playground and a museum in the area, the Ukrainska Pravda website reported.
Tymoshenko said on Telegram: "The children's playground and the Khanenko museum in the center of the capital, this is where the Russian terrorists aimed. They are killing culture and our children."
Following the strikes on Kyiv, several residents were seen on the streets with blood on their clothes and hands, the Associated Press news agency reported.
One of the missiles fell near the Taras Shevchenko National University, amid the morning rush-hour car traffic, the PAP news agency reported.
Smyrnov said in his Facebook post that six cars had caught fire after the attack and over 15 vehicles were damaged, the BBC reported.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that rockets also hit the city’s Solomianskyi district, according to Ukrainska Pravda.
The Ukrainian capital has been under air raid alert since 6.45 a.m. local time, with public transport, including metro, suspended.
Ukraine’s President Zelensky said on Telegram that Russia was “trying to destroy us and wipe us off the face of the earth,” as cited by the Associated Press.
“Please do not leave (bomb) shelters,” Zelensky urged his compatriots. “Let’s hold on and be strong.”
The BBC’s correspondent in Kyiv Paul Adams said the fact Russia struck the centre of the Ukrainian capital was “extremely unusual,” in fact “the first time the centre of Kyiv has been hit since the war began.”
Explosions rock cities across Ukraine
Meanwhile, Russian missiles on Monday morning also struck other cities across Ukraine, including Dnipro in the east, Khmelnytskyi in the west, Zaporizhzhia in the south east, Zhytomyr in the north, Lviv in the west and Kharkiv in the north east, Ukrainian outlets said.
The strikes on Ukrainian cities took place a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine of “an act of terrorism” against the Kerch Strait bridge linking Russia and Crimea, prompting calls for reprisals from top officials in Moscow, the Reuters news agency reported.
Monday is day 229 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
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Source: PAP, apnews.com kyivindependent.com, pravda.com.ua, bbc.com