KYIV, Ukraine—Russia fired cruise missiles at cities across Ukraine during morning rush hour on Oct. 10, knocking out power and heat, in what President Vladimir Putin declared to be revenge for Ukrainian attacks, including on a bridge to Crimea.
The missiles tore into busy intersections, parks, and tourist sites in the center of downtown Kyiv with an intensity not seen since Russian forces tried to capture the capital early in the war.
Explosions were also reported in Lviv, Ternopil, and Zhytomyr in western Ukraine, Dnipro and Kremenchuk in central Ukraine, Zaporizhzhia in the south, and Kharkiv in the east. At least 10 people were killed and scores injured, and swaths of the country were left without power, Ukrainian officials said.
In a televised address, Putin said that he ordered “massive” long-range strikes against Ukrainian energy, command, and communication targets, using missiles fired from air, sea, and land, in response to what he described as terrorist attacks, including the Oct. 8 explosion on the Kerch Strait bridge.
“The Kyiv regime, with its actions, has put itself on the same level as international terrorist organizations. With the most odious groups,” Putin said, threatening more strikes if Ukraine hits Russian territory. “To leave such acts without a response is simply impossible.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed the Oct. 10 attacks were deliberately timed to kill people as well as to knock out Ukraine’s power grid. His prime minister said 11 major infrastructure targets were hit in eight regions, leaving swaths of the country with no power, water, or heat.
More volleys of missiles struck the capital again later in the morning. Pedestrians huddled for shelter at the entrance of Metro stations and inside parking garages.
Germany said a building housing its consulate in Kyiv was hit on Oct. 10, though it hadn’t been used since the start of the war on Feb. 24.
By mid-morning, Ukraine’s defense ministry claimed Russia had fired 81 cruise missiles, and Ukraine’s air defenses had shot down 43 of them.
Security camera footage showed shrapnel and flames engulfing a glass-bottomed footbridge across a wooded valley in the city center. One pedestrian could be seen running from the blast. Reuters later saw a huge crater below the bridge, which was damaged but remained standing.
“They are trying to destroy us and wipe us off the face of the earth,” Zelenskyy said on the Telegram messaging app. “The air raid sirens do not subside throughout Ukraine.”
Officials reported that power was out in Ukraine’s second-largest city Kharkiv and nearby Poltava, and Prime Minister Denys Shmygal promised to restore utilities as quickly as possible.
Belarus Escalation
In another sign of possible escalation, Putin’s closest ally, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, said on Oct. 10 that he had ordered troops to deploy jointly with Russian forces near Ukraine, which he accused of planning attacks on Belarus with its Western backers.“Their owners are pushing them to start a war against Belarus to drag us there,” he said. Lukashenko allowed Belarus to be used as a staging ground for Russia early in the war but hasn’t sent his troops to fight.
Within Russia, the strikes were cheered by hawks. Ramzan Kadyrov, the staunchly pro-Kremlin leader of Russia’s Chechnya region who had demanded in recent days that military commanders be sacked, hailed the Oct. 10 attacks:
“Now, I am 100 percent satisfied with how the special military operation is being conducted.”
