Russia bombs Ukraine cities: What is happening, and why

As the Russia-Ukraine war looks set for an escalation, here is what has happened so far.

What happened on Monday

Russian forces hurled a volley of missiles on several Ukrainian cities, including the capital Kyiv, the western city of Lviv, Kharkiv, Ternopil, Khmelnytskyi, Zhytomyr and Kropyvnytskyi.

Kyiv had not faced such intense missile attacks since the early weeks of the fighting, while Lviv had been the shelter for people fleeing war in eastern Ukraine. According to Reuters, in Kyiv, the bombs struck the busy city centre, with reports of at least five people killed and 12 wounded.

In all the strikes, civilian infrastructure has been damaged and apartment buildings have seen window glass blown off and water and electricity supplies cut. According to Reuters, explosions were reported in Zhytomyr in Ukraine’s west, Dnipro and Kremenchuk in central Ukraine, and Zaporizhzhia in the south. In Lviv, energy infrastructure was hit, Regional Governor Maksym Kozytskyi was quoted as saying by the Associated Press (AP).

How Ukraine has reacted

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on the messaging app Telegram, “They are trying to destroy us and wipe us off the face of the earth. The air raid sirens do not subside throughout Ukraine. There are missiles hitting. Unfortunately, there are dead and wounded.”

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

Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko posted on social media, “The capital is under attack from Russian terrorists! The missiles hit objects in the city centre (in the Shevchenkivskyi district) and in the Solomyanskyi district. The air raids sirens are going off, and therefore the threat, continues.”

Why Russia is ratcheting up the attacks

The multiple attacks came a few hours before Putin is to hold a meeting with his security council. Russia has been facing humiliating setbacks on the battlefield, sparking criticism of the military leadership within the country. The damage to the Crimea bridge has only worsened matters.

Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said on Monday that Russia should kill the “terrorists” responsible for the attack. “Russia can only respond to this crime by directly killing terrorists, as is the custom elsewhere in the world. This is what Russian citizens expect,” he was quoted as saying by state news agency TASS.

Why is the bridge so important

The 19-km Crimea Bridge over the Kerch Strait is the only direct link between the transport network of Russia and the Crimean peninsula, which Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014. The bridge was a flagship project for Putin, who opened it himself for road traffic with great fanfare by driving a truck across in 2018.
The bridge is crucial for the supply of fuel, food and other products to Crimea, where the port of Sevastopol is the historic home base of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet.

It also became a major supply route for Russian forces after Moscow invaded Ukraine, sending forces from Crimea to seize most of southern Ukraine’s Kherson region and some of the adjoining Zaporizhzhia province.

Meanwhile, India’s statement

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who is in Australia, Monday refused to predict India’s vote on the upcoming draft resolution against Russia in the UN General Assembly.

During a joint press meet with his Australian counterpart Penny Wong, Jaishankar said, “As a matter of prudence and policy, we don’t predict our votes in advance… We have been very clearly against the conflict in Ukraine. We believe that this conflict does not serve the interests of anybody neither the participants nor indeed of the international community.”

with inputs from AP, PTI, Reuters