Central Kiev hit by missile strikes

Russian missiles struck multiple targets in central Kiev on Monday morning, Mayor Vitaly Klitschko wrote on his Telegram channel. He urged residents to seek shelter and avoid traveling to the capital. Klitschko said that the city’s “critical infrastructure” has been hit.

Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to the interior minister, said that a missile struck Vladimirskaya Street, where the main office of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) is based.

Gerashchenko shared videos on Telegram showing clouds of smoke rising above the skyline, and said that several civilian vehicles were destroyed.

The adviser added that subway services has been partially suspended in Kiev, and all underground stations are now serving as shelters. 

Gerashchenko later said that five civilians were killed and 12 injured in the capital.

Strikes were also reported in the eastern city of Dnepr, and explosions in Lviv, western Ukraine. The national railway operator warned that some trains could be delayed due to the damage to the tracks.

In a post on his Telegram channel, President Vladimir Zelensky confirmed that there had been missile strikes across Ukraine. “Unfortunately, there are dead and wounded,” he wrote.

The reported strikes come after Moscow accused Ukraine’s security services of orchestrating the truck bombing that damaged the Crimean Bridge, which connects the peninsula with mainland Russia, on Saturday. At least three people were killed in the attack, the authorities said.

Ukraine has neither confirmed nor denied involvement. However, several high-ranking officials and government agencies openly celebrated the bombing.