This Monday morning, during rush hour, Russia attacked cities throughout Ukraine, killing people and destroying infrastructure. It appears to be retaliation for an explosion on a key bridge in Crimea, which Putin declared as a Ukrainian terrorist attack.

In the heart of Kyiv's downtown, cruise missiles plowed into crowded intersections, parks, and tourist attractions with a ferocity not seen even when Russian forces tried to take the city early in the conflict.

Explosions were also recorded in Kharkiv in the east, Dnipro and Kremenchuk in the center, Lviv, Ternopil, and Zhytomyr in the west, and Zaporizhzhia in the south.

Volodymyr Zelenskiy, president of Ukraine, said the strikes at rush hour appeared to have been planned specifically to kill civilians.

A man in jeans lay dead in the roadway at a busy intersection in Kyiv, encircled by burning vehicles. A woman was lying in the grass in a park when a soldier cut through her clothing to attempt to cure her wounds. Nearby, two more women were bleeding.

In a park in the heart of Kiev, a massive crater gaped close to a playground for kids. In the muck, smoldering debris from what appeared to be a missile was discovered.

Later in the morning, the capital was once again hit by more missile volleys. At the entrances to Metro stations and inside parking garages, pedestrians gathered for cover.

Russia has launched 75 cruise missiles as of midday, according to the Ukrainian defense ministry, and Ukraine's air defenses had intercepted 41 of them. At least five people have been murdered and 12 have been injured in the capital, according to Kyiv city police.

Online security camera footage shows a glass-bottomed footbridge crossing a parkland in the city center, one of Kyiv's most well-known tourist attractions, being consumed by a cloud of shrapnel and flame. At the time, it appeared like the bridge was deserted.

Zelenskiy stated on the Telegram chat platform that "they are trying to annihilate us and wipe us off the face of the earth." "All around Ukraine, air raid sirens continue to sound. Missiles are crashing. Sadly, there are also injured and dead."

Later, he claimed that the strikes' primary targets were both people and the energy infrastructure.

"Such a moment and such targets were deliberately picked to inflict the greatest amount of harm."

Moscow didn't immediately provide any information about its intended targets. Russian officials deny intentionally targeting people.

"Russian terrorists are attacking the nation's capital! The city center (in the Shevchenkivskyi district) and the Solomyanskyi district were both damaged by the rockets. The threat is still present because the air raid sirens are still sounding "Vitali Klitschko, the mayor, published on social media.

"Rescue services are operating, and law enforcement authorities have shut the central streets of Kiev."

Later, he claimed that crucial infrastructure had been damaged.

The attacks came two days after an explosion that Putin on Sunday described as "an act of terrorism aiming at destroying critically important civilian infrastructure" destroyed the lone bridge across the Kerch Strait to the Crimea peninsula.

In a video posted to the Kremlin's Telegram account, he claimed, "This was planned, executed, and ordered by the Ukrainian special services."

The bridge, which Putin personally inaugurated, is a crucial supply line for Russian forces in southern Ukraine and a representation of Russia's sovereignty over Crimea, the peninsula that country's army seized in 2014. Russia then declared Crimea to be part of its territory.

Dmitry Medvedev, the vice chairman of the Russian Security Council, stated that Russia should execute the "terrorists" in charge of the attack before the council meeting.

"The only way Russia can respond to this crime is by executing terrorists on the spot, as is done everywhere else in the world. Russian citizens anticipate this, "TASS, the official state news agency, cited him as saying.

The chairman of Russia's Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin, claimed on Sunday that a car had burst on the bridge after traveling through North Ossetia, North Georgia, Armenia, and the Krasnodar region of Russia.

Since the beginning of September, Russia has experienced significant setbacks on the battlefield as Ukrainian forces have broken through the front lines and recaptured area in the northeast and south.

Putin announced the mobilization of hundreds of thousands of reserve soldiers in response to the casualties, declared the annexation of occupied territory, and repeatedly threatened to use nuclear weapons.

Retaliation: Russia targets cities in Ukraine during rush hour after Crimea bridge incident

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