There have been no airstrikes in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv for months. But after destroying a key bridge in Crimea, Russia is now responding with rocket attacks and targeting Ukrainian command centers.
Heavy explosions erupted in the center of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv in the morning. There were several impacts, reported Mayor Vitali Klitschko. "Details will follow later," he said. A correspondent for the German Press Agency also reported on the detonations. According to their observations, a fireball should have been seen in the sky in the center. Clouds of smoke could be seen in pictures and videos on social networks. Other eyewitnesses reported three to four impacts. The exact number is not yet clear.
Earlier, Deputy Chief of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev threatened Ukraine with retaliation for the explosion on the Crimean bridge, which is strategic for Russia, on Saturday. Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin spoke of a "terrorist attack" on the bridge on Sunday and - like the media in Kyiv - blamed the Ukrainian secret service SBU. However, the SBU has not confirmed an involvement.
The SBU headquarters is located in the city center in Kyiv. The power center in Moscow has repeatedly threatened to target command posts in the Ukrainian capital if the shelling of Russian territory does not stop. Kyiv has been hit by Russian missiles several times since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression. However, it was the worst such incident and the first attack on the city in months.
"One of the rockets landed near the Grushevsky monument on Volodymyr Street. Rescuers are at work," Interior Ministry adviser Anton Gerashchenko said. Volodymyr Street is right in the center of Kiev. EU Ambassador to Ukraine Matti Maasikas tweeted a picture showing the extent of the destruction near Shevchenko Park.
Medvedev said on Sunday: "All reports and conclusions have been made. Russia's answer to this crime can only be direct annihilation of the terrorists." He expressed himself in an interview with the Kremlin journalist Nadana Friedrichson. "This is what the citizens of Russia are waiting for," he said ahead of a scheduled Security Council meeting this Monday that Putin will chair.
On Saturday morning, an explosion shook the 19-kilometer bridge that connects Russia and the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, annexed by Moscow in 2014. Around seven and a half months after the start of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, the building, which is strategically and symbolically important for Russia, was severely damaged. According to official information from Moscow, three people died.
