Russian Missiles Hit Ukrainian Capital, Other Cities

Deadly Russian missile strikes hit Ukraine's capital Monday, part of a barrage of what the Ukrainian military said was 75 missiles launched at the country.

Kyiv police said most of the strikes hit the center of the city, killing at least five people and wounding 12 others.

Explosions were also reported in multiple other areas, including the western city of Lviv, the central city of Dnipro and the eastern city of Kharkiv. Ukraine's military said it shot down 41 of the Russian missiles.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov blamed what he called "terrorist's missiles" in reference to Russia and said Ukraine's "courage will never be destroyed."

"The only thing they will demolish irreversibly is the future of Russia, a future of a globally despised rogue terrorist state," he tweeted

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia was trying to "destroy us and wipe us off the face of the earth."

"The air raid sirens do not subside throughout Ukraine," President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a Telegram post.

Kyiv was last attacked in June. Once under pressure from advancing Russian forces in the early part of the invasion, Kyiv had been relatively calm as fighting focused in eastern and southern Ukraine.

"Massive shelling of Ukrainian cities is a large-scale live war crime and a no-rules war," Mykhailo Podolyak, a Zelenskyy adviser, tweeted. He said the only possible response is for Ukraine to receive missiles defense systems, expelling Russia from international forums and issuing immediate arrest warrants for Russian authorities.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said he was cutting short a tour of Africa and returning immediately to Ukraine, while also coordinating with Ukraine's partners on a "resolute response to the Russian attacks."

"Putin's only tactic is terror on peaceful Ukrainian cities, but he will not break Ukraine down," Kuleba tweeted. "This is also his response to all appeasers who want to talk with him about peace: Putin is a terrorist who talks with missiles."

The Russian strikes Monday came a day after President Vladimir Putin blamed Ukraine for an attack on the bridge linking Russia and Crimea.

Putin said that attack was a "terrorist act" directed at Russian infrastructure. Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 in a move not recognized by the international community.

Saturday's attack caused the partial collapse of the Kerch Bridge, which has been a major munitions and troop supply route for Russian attacks in southern Ukraine.

Ukrainian officials strongly suggested they had carried out the attack without directly claiming responsibility.

Some information for this story came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.