BBC reporter Hugo Bachega ducks from missile strike on Kyiv

A TV reporter was forced to flee from screen midway through his live update on the carnage in Ukraine as a missile strike was fired overhead in Kyiv. See the video.

Russia fired a hail of deadly missiles into Ukraine’s biggest cities on Monday, as Belarus joined the war.

According to Ukrainian authorities, 41 out of 75 missiles were intercepted, but the remainder struck cities around the country, including the capital Kyiv and western Lviv near the border with Poland killing at least 11 people.

Vladimir Putin warned Ukraine he was ready to authorise more “severe” attacks, while deputy head of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said that “the first episode has been played. There will be others.”

Local residents examine a crater following a missile strike in Dnipro. The head of the Ukrainian military said that Russian forces launched at least 75 missiles at Ukraine on Monday morning. Picture: AFP

A screen grab taken from a surveillance camera shows an explosion rocked a bridge in the Shevchenkivskyi district of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. Picture: AA Video/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

This video grab taken from an AFPTV footage shows vehicles destroyed in Kyiv as security and emergency forces work on the scene after several missile strikes. Picture: AFPTV / AFP

Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Mr Putin, also granted Russia use of his territory and agreed to deploy “a regional group of troops” but did not say where they would be sent.

Strong-arming Belarus into greater involvement, nuclear threats and increasing the brutality of attacks on Ukraine are seen as some of the few options available to Mr Putin in the short-term as he seeks to change the momentum on the battlefield.

An injured civilian is helped by a medic at the scene after several explosions rocked the Shevchenkivskyi district of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. Picture: Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

At least 11 people were killed in the missiles attacks that hit peak-hour Monday morning. Picture: Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Monday morning’s explosions, which came shortly after 8am local time, were the largest such attacks in the capital in months. Picture: Getty Images

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country will not be “intimidated” by Russia’s missile strikes.

“Ukraine cannot be intimidated. It can only be more united. Ukraine cannot be stopped,” Mr Zelenskyy said in a video shared on social media.

Experts warn the worst is to come for Ukraine. Damage in Kyiv after Monday’s missile attack. Picture: Getty Images

Absolute carnage. The site of a blast in Kyiv, Ukraine. Picture: Getty Images

Belarus' President Alexander Lukashenko has issued threats against Ukraine in support of Vladimir Putin’s offensive. Picture: AFP

He also promised to make the “battlefield even more painful” for Russian troops.

Ukraine’s ambassador to the United Nations denounced Russia as a “terrorist state” during an urgent General Assembly meeting to discuss Moscow’s annexation of four Ukrainian regions.

“Russia has proven once again, that this is a terrorist state that must be deterred in the strongest possible ways,” said Sergiy Kyslytsya.

IRANIAN—MADE DRONE USED AGAINST UKRAINE

Ukraine has accused Russia of using Iranian-made “suicide” drones as they report 83 missiles or drones were launched against the Capital, Kyiv, and other cities on Monday.

The Shahed-136 UAV drones contain explosives, which after loitering above targets for hours, are used to hit enemy buildings and soldiers with a deadly explosion.

Ukraine’s military made the announcement regarding the use of the drones in a post on Facebook.

“The enemy used Iranian Shahed-136 UAVs in strikes launched from the territory of Belarus,” they said, adding they had “destroyed” nine of the drones.

Ukrainians have nicknamed the drone “the flying lawnmower” due the loud motor that is audible while it is hovering above targets, according to the Daily mail.

Despite the devastation that can be caused by the drone, soldiers in Ukraine report they are relatively vulnerable to small arms fire.

The Daily Mail reports Iran has denied supplying the drones to Russia.

BBC REPORTER DUCKS FROM MISSILES

BBC reporter Hugo Bachega was forced to interrupt his televised update on the carnage in Ukraine to duck from a missile strike in Kyiv on Monday.

The reporter was addressing the possible retaliation from Russia over the destruction of a key bridge in Crimea, when a series of missiles flew over his head.

The missiles landed close to the city centre, disrupting the “weird normal” Kyiv had begun to experience after being spared from attacks for quite some time.

“There was a sense that life, as much as possible, was returning to normal,” the reporter told the BBC as emergency services rushed past.

The reporter later confirming he and his team were safe.

Hugo Bachega of @BBCWorld indeed, live, in Kiev as ominous noises thunder out of the sky pic.twitter.com/qkIlGpJ2Nh

— Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) October 10, 2022

STRIKES LAUNCHED IN PEAK HOUR

The wave of deadly missile attacks on Ukraine’s biggest cities were launched on Monday morning during peak hour in retaliation for the crippling of his personal project, the Kerch bridge linking Russia to Crimea

In a co-ordinated attack, which hit some Ukrainian civilian targets, the Russians attacked across the country, launching scores of missiles on Kyiv, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine, Dnipro, Khmelnytsky and Zhytomyr.

An emergency worker carries dogs as he escorts a local resident outside a partially destroyed multistorey office building in Kyiv. Picture: AFP

Amid the attacks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on his Telegram account that Russia is “trying to destroy us and wipe us off the face of the earth”.

“Please do not leave (bomb) shelters,” he wrote. “Let’s hold on and be strong.

A rescuer helping an injured woman after several strikes hit the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Picture: State Emergency Service of Ukraine / AFP

UKRAINIANS SING SONGS AS THEY SHELTER

Ukrainians sheltering in Kyiv underground railway stations broke out into song in an act of defiance as Russian missiles rained down on the capital.

Touching videos shows stations packed with people on platforms, stairs and stopped trains singing the national anthem and other native songs.

In one video, people cheer and clap at the end of songs.

Foreign Ministry adviser Liubov Tsybulska shared footage and wrote: “Russia, we sing and stay strong no matter how hard you try to kill us.”

WORLD REACTS

Australia’s Defence Minister Richard Marles said “the attacks show a complete indifference to civilian casualties.”

“They have been aimed at the heart of Kiyv and other cities in Ukraine. It’s an appalling attack and what is clear is that we are facing a protracted conflict,” he told Sunrise.

US president Joe Biden condemned the attacks and said they “once again demonstrate the utter brutality of Putin’s illegal war on the Ukrainian people.”

Ukrainian State Emergency Service rescuers working following strikes on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Picture: AFP/State Emergency Services of Ukraine

UN chief Antonio Guterres condemned the strikes as “another unacceptable escalation” while French leader Emmanuel Macron called them “a profound change in the nature of this war.”

Western analysts warned Mr Putin is seeking to escalate the nearly eight-month war and compensate for humiliating recent losses.

Police officers examine destroyed cars in the centre of Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. Picture: AFP

“Russia demonstrated that it can still escalate the conflict but it can only escalate by attacking more and more civilian targets,” said Wojciech Lorenz, head of the international security program at the Polish Institute of International Affairs.

“The Russian regime was under pressure from its own propagandists and some opinion makers to demonstrate that it was able to respond to Ukrainian offensives,” he told AFP.

A rescuer helping a woman following strikes on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Picture: AFP

US AIRPORTS HIT BY ‘PRO-RUSSIAN’ CYBERATTACKS

The websites for a number of major US airports were briefly knocked offline on Monday after a cyberattack promoted by a pro-Russian hacking group.

The disruptions affected airport websites in cities such as Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Phoenix and St Louis, and were carried out via distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, which involve taking a website offline by flooding it with traffic.

The airport websites were targeted after the pro-Russian hacking group known as “KillNet” published a list of sites and encouraged its followers to attack them.

The DDoS attacks only affected the public-facing websites of the airports, which supply flight and services information and do not have any impact on operations.

Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson Airport said its website is “up and running after an incident early this morning that made it inaccessible to the public.”

“An investigation into the cause of the incident is underway,” it said.

“At no time were operations at the airport impacted.”

Most of the airport websites targeted appeared to be functioning normally after being temporarily shut down.

KillNet claimed responsibility last week for attacks on a number of US state government websites, and it has taken aim at other countries opposing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) said it was “aware of reports of DDoS attacks targeting multiple US airport websites.”

“We are co-ordinating with potentially impacted entities and offering assistance as needed,” a CISA spokesperson said.

MONSTER FIREBALL AFTER BRIDGE EXPLOSION

Incredible footage emerged of the moment the bridge linking Crimea to Russia was partially blown up.

In the video, vehicles can be seen travelling on Russia’s four-lane Kerch Strait bridge before a massive explosion sparked a monster fireball.

The brake lights of a car and truck heading towards the impact zone can be seen as the drivers react to the bomb going off.

A massive plume of smoke and flames on the bridge could be seen from a distance.

The moment a bridge linking Crimea to Russia was hit by a missile.

Three people were killed in the blast which destroyed part of the bridge – a major military supply route for Russian forces in southern Ukraine.

Russian authorities determined it was caused by a truck bomb but Western demolition experts believe it was more likely to have been a missile.

“You can’t get that much stuff in a vehicle going over a bridge. Bridges are designed to withstand accidents of that sort,” security analyst Michael Clarke told Sky News.

PUTIN BLAMES UKRAINE FOR ‘TERRORIST ATTACK’ AMID NEWS STRIKE

Moscow blamed Ukraine for the deadly blast on the bridge linking Crimea to Russia, as Ukraine denounced the latest lethal missile attack in its territory that killed at least 13 people.

“The authors, perpetrators and sponsors are the Ukrainian secret services,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said of Saturday’s Crimea bridge bombing, which he described as a “terrorist act”.

Mr Putin was speaking during a meeting with the head of the investigation committee he has set-up to look into the bombing, Russian news agencies reported.

Rescuers help a woman to leave a residential building damaged after a strike in Zaporizhzhia, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Picture: AFP

Russia officials also denounced on Sunday what they said was a surge in Ukrainian fire into its territory that had hit homes, administrative buildings and a monastery.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meanwhile denounced a Russian missile strike on Sunday that killed at least 13 people – one of them a child.

The overnight strike on the city of Zaporizhzhia also wounded 89 people, including 11 children, according to a statement from the president’s office.

This handout picture released by National Police of Ukraine shows a residential building after a strike in Zaporizhzhia, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Picture: AFP

Mr Zelenskyy described the “merciless strikes on peaceful people” and residential buildings as “absolute evil” perpetrated by “savages and terrorists”.

Regional official Oleksandr Starukh posted pictures of heavily damaged apartment blocks on Telegram and said a rescue operation had been launched to find victims under the rubble.

The strike on Zaporizhzhia appears to be a revenge attack following the Kerch Bridge blast.

Divers were to inspect the waters beneath the giant Crimea bridge on Sunday, local time, a day after a truck bomb ignited a massive fire on the road and rail link, killing three people.

“We are ordering the examination by divers, they will start work from six in the morning,” Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin announced.

This handout satellite image shows smoke billowing from a fire on Kerch Bridge that links Crimea to Russia, after a truck exploded. Picture: AFP/HO/Maxar Technologies

“First results” of Russia’s inspection of the bridge were due Sunday, he added. Russia on Saturday said traffic had resumed over the strategic link symbolising the Kremlin’s 2014 annexation of Crimea.

The 19km bridge was attacked at dawn, sparking celebrations from Ukrainians and others on social media, where dramatic footage showed it burning with a road section plunging into the water.

But Mr Zelenskyy did not directly mention it in his nightly address and officials made no claim of responsibility.

Black smoke billows from a fire on the Kerch bridge that links Crimea to Russia, after a truck exploded. Picture: AFP

Following the blast, the bodies of an unidentified man and a woman were pulled out of the water, likely passengers in a car driving near the exploded truck, Moscow said.

Authorities had identified the owner of the truck as a resident of Russia’s southern Krasnodar region, saying his home was being searched.

The bridge is logistically crucial for Moscow, a vital transport link for carrying military equipment to Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine.

It is also hugely symbolic. President Vladimir Putin personally inaugurated the structure in 2018 by driving a truck across it and Moscow had maintained the link was safe despite the fighting.

Russian President Vladimir Putin inspected the road section of the road-and-rail Crimean Bridge over the Kerch Strait in 2018. Picture: AFP

While some in Moscow hinted at Ukrainian “terrorism”, state media continued to call it an “emergency situation”.

The Kremlin’s spokesman said Mr Putin had ordered a commission to be set-up to look into the blast.

Officials in Moscow stopped short of blaming Kyiv, but a Russian-installed official in Crimea pointed the finger at “Ukrainian vandals.”

“There is an undisguised terrorist war against us,” Russian ruling party deputy Oleg Morozov told the RIA Novosti news agency.

A PUNCH IN THE FACE FOR PUTIN

Military analysts said the blast could have a major impact if Moscow saw the need to shift already hard-pressed troops to the Crimea from other regions or if it prompted a rush by residents to leave.

It is too early to ascertain the method of attack and the range of implications of this attack on the Kerch Bridge. It is certainly a punch in the face for Putin on his birthday. A couple of thoughts however in this short (for me) thread. 1/9 🧵 https://t.co/h8C45CWI2K

— Mick Ryan, AM (@WarintheFuture) October 8, 2022

Mick Ryan, a retired Australian major general now with the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said that even if Ukrainians were not behind the blast, it constituted “a massive influence operation win for Ukraine”.

“It is a demonstration to Russians, and the rest of the world, that Russia’s military cannot protect any of the provinces it recently annexed,” he said on Twitter.

“It is certainly a punch in the face for Putin on his birthday.”

The blast came after Ukraine’s lightning territorial gains in the east and south that have undermined the Kremlin’s official annexation of Donetsk, neighbouring Luhansk and the southern regions of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.

Putin will chair a meeting with his Security Council on Monday, with some experts fearing he will use the bridge attack to justify and escalation in the war.