Heaviest wave of attacks by russia since start of Ukraine war

11 people were killed after Russia launched a wave of missile strikes on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities.

Ukrainian officials said Moscow targeted critical energy infrastructure and several regions suffered power outages.

President Vladimir Putin threatened further “harsh” responses following the massive explosion Saturday on the strategic bridge linking Russia and Crimea. Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for the attack on the bridge.

International leaders condemned the Russian attacks and vowed to continue to support Ukraine in its war efforts. Some embassies in Kyiv, including the US, urged citizens to shelter in place and depart Ukraine if they can do so safely, calling the security situation “highly volatile.”

Russia struck multiple Ukrainian cities with missiles and drones, according to Ukrainian authorities. Catch up on everything you need to know on Monday’s developments so far:

Strikes hit multiple Ukrainian regions: A total of 84 cruise missiles were fired at Ukraine Monday along with a number of attack drones, Ukrainian officials say, adding that the military destroyed 56 of the Russian weapons. Critical infrastructure facilities — mainly energy supply facilities — were hit in multiple regions and in the city of Kyiv, where more than 30 fires broke out, the Ukrainian State Emergency Service (SES) said. At least 11 people died and 64 were injured following the attacks, officials said.

Critical infrastructure was impacted in some areas: At least four regions — Lviv, Poltava, Sumy and Ternopil — had no electricity supply. Authorities requested Lviv residents who may have access to electricity to only use it for “urgent needs.” Kyiv had briefly suspended its subway operations. The region of Khmelnytskyi, which lies west of Kyiv, has “no electricity supply, electric transport does not work, water supply is suspended, traffic lights do not work,” according to the region’s head. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a Telegram post Monday that the government was “doing everything necessary to quickly restore electricity supply.” Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said “preliminary data shows most of the energy facilities will be reconnected today. The rest will start working tomorrow.”

Putin blames Ukraine for attack on Crimean bridge: Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for the Crimea bridge blast, but Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused Ukrainian “special services” of the attack. He said Monday’s strikes were in response to the attack, but Ukrainian intelligence says the strikes had been planned since early last week.

China and India also call for de-escalation: After the strikes, China expressed hope that the situation in Ukraine will “de-escalated soon.” India has said it is “deeply concerned” by the escalation of the conflict and said that “escalation of hostilities is in no one’s interest,” urging an “immediate cessation of hostilities” and return to the “path of dialogue.” Other European leaders have also condemned the attack.

Escalation in the war: Monday’s strikes come on the heels of other recent attacks across Ukraine. Last week, Russian forces intensified missile attacks on residential buildings in Zaporizhzhia over the past week, with at least 43 civilians dead in the past week, including 14 on Saturday alone, according to Zelensky. Then the huge explosion occurred early Saturday severely damaging the only bridge connecting annexed Crimea to the Russian mainland, causing parts of the structure to collapse. At least three people were were killed, according to Russian officials. (CNN)