Ukraine fumes at ‘provocation’ talk after Russia’s devastating missile strikes on civilian hotspots

Ukraine has doubled down on shocking accusations against Vladimir Putin and rallied against a particular description of his recent attack.

Ukrainian officials have doubled down on terrorism accusations against Vladimir Putin after Russia’s latest offensive hit several civilian hot spots on Monday.

Putin ordered 83 missiles to be fired at Ukraine, of which half were shot down, in a revenge attack following the partial destruction of a key bridge in Crimea over the weekend.

As explosions rocked Kyiv, more blasts were felt in Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, Sumy, Zhytomyr, Vinnytsia, and even Ternopil and Lviv in the west of the country.

Eleven people were killed, with more than 60 injured.

Russian officials have warned it is just the “first episode” of a major retaliation to the bridge explosion over the weekend.

However, all the talk of “retaliation” to Ukraine’s massive blow has seemingly struck a chord with a number of high ranking officials in the nation under siege.

Cars burn after Russian military strike, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues in central Kyiv.

The head of the Ukrainian military said that Russian forces launched at least 75 missiles at Ukraine on Monday morning, with fatal strikes targeting the capital Kyiv, and cities in the south and west.

Officials, including Minister of Foreign Affairs Kuleba, have suggested many media outlets have suddenly forgot who invaded who, imploring that Ukraine is merely defending its territory and is not “provoking” Russian powers by hitting military targets.

“This nonsense about Putin being ‘provoked’ must stop. He does not need anything to ‘provoke’ him in order to commit heinous crimes,” Kuleba said on Monday.

“I ask international media to stop shifting the blame on the victim of aggression by suggesting that Putin “responds” or is being ‘provoked’.

This nonsense about Putin being “provoked” must stop. He does not need anything to “provoke” him in order to commit heinous crimes. I ask international media to stop shifting the blame on the victim of aggression by suggesting that Putin “responds” or is being “provoked” 2/2

— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) October 10, 2022

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia was targeting energy infrastructure and showed zero regard for civilian life.

“They want panic and chaos, they want to destroy our energy system. They are hopeless,” he said.

“Such a time and such targets were specially chosen to cause as much damage as possible.”

“Russia is trying to destroy us and wipe us off the face of the earth,” he added.

Buildings - including the empty German consulate in Kyiv - and cars were left ablaze in the wake of the attack.

And in an eerie similarity to the Crimea bridge explosion, the Klitschko bridge, which opened in 2019 and is popular with walkers and cyclists, was seen engulfed in a fireball as a missile struck at around 8am local time.

The 212m bridge is normally packed with pedestrians and street performers, with a motorway running underneath. It is not clear if anyone was killed or hurt in the explosion.

Putin has vowed to continue what he believes is a “proportionate” response to Ukraine’s actions in Crimea, accusing Ukraine of “carrying out terrorist acts” on Russian territory.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia was targeting energy infrastructure and showed zero regard for civilian life.

“A massive strike with long-range high-precision weapons, from air, sea and land against energy infrastructure, communications and military targets was carried out this morning at the suggestion of the Defence Ministry and the General Staff,” Putin said in an address hours after missiles hit Kyiv’s city centre.

“Should the attempts to carry out terrorist attacks on our territory persist, Russia’s response will be tough and its scale will be proportionate to the level of threats posed against Russia.

“Kyiv’s regime, with its actions, places itself in line with international terrorist organisations,” Putin said. “Leaving such crimes without response is impossible. In case of continuing attacks we will respond in harsh manner and in line with level of threats to Russian Federation. Nobody should have any doubt about this.”

The United States and other G7 powers will hold crisis talks today to address Russia’s recent blitz.

US President Joe Biden condemned Monday’s attacks, declaring they “demonstrate the utter brutality” of Russia’s “illegal war”.

The White House said Biden had spoken to Zelensky on Monday and had pledged further support to Ukraine, including advanced air defence systems.

A Ukrainian army 2S1 Gvozdika self-propelled howitzer fires a shell on the front line in Donetsk region on October 10, 2022 as Russian forces launched dozens of missiles at Ukraine.

Protesters across the world have reacted to the biggest wave of strikes across Ukraine in months, which killed at least 11 and wounded more than 80 civilians.

Since Russia launched its “special military operation” on February 24, more than 7.6 million Ukrainian refugees have been recorded across Europe.

UN officials say a further seven million people have been displaced within the country and warned more people could soon be forced to flee their homes if Russia continues to target civilian hotspots.

“The bombing of civilians, of houses... of non-military infrastructure in an indiscriminate manner in many cities across Ukraine, means the war is becoming harder and more difficult for civilians,” UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi told journalists in Geneva.

“I fear that the events of these last hours will provoke more displacements.”