Russia launched missiles toward Kyiv, Ukraine, early Monday, killing at least eight civilians and injuring 24 others.
According to Fox News, Kyiv Mayor Vitalii Klitchko said the explosions were reported in the city's Shevchenko district, an area in the middle of the city of historic buildings and government offices.
Missile strikes also hit nearby Lviv, Kharkiv, and Dnipro.
CNN reported that Russia fired at least 84 cruise missiles toward Ukraine, but 43 were neutralized by missile defense systems.
In Lviv, energy infrastructure was damaged, Regional Governor Maksym Kozytskyi said. And in Kharkiv, the water supply was knocked out, said Mayor Ihor Terekhov.
The attack came after months of relative calm. The last attack on Kyiv was in June, when missiles struck an apartment building, killing one and injuring six other people.
In Russia, President Vladimir Putin claimed over the weekend that a recent strike that damaged a bridge from Russia to the annexed territory of Crimea was a "terrorist act" by Ukrainian special services.
"It is simply impossible to leave such crimes unanswered," Putin said in a brief television appearance on Monday. "If attempts to carry out terrorist attacks on our territory continue, responses from Russia will be tough and will correspond in scale to the level of threats to the Russian Federation."
He said, "no doubt it was a terrorist act directed at the destruction of critically important
civilian infrastructure."
The bridge was opened in May 2018 and stood 12 miles long.
In Kyiv, presidential adviser Mikhail Podolyak called Putin's accusations "too cynical even for Russia."
"Putin accuses Ukraine of terrorism?" he said. "It has not even been 24 hours since Russian planes fired 12 rockets into a residential area of Zaporizhzhia, killing 13 people and injuring more than 50. No, there is only one state terrorist, and the whole world knows who he is."
According to reports, Russia has seen setbacks in its war with Ukraine after the country invaded Ukraine some eight months ago. Recently, Ukrainian soldiers have successfully taken back areas in the south and east.
Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Ed Ram/Stringer
Amanda Casanova is a writer living in Dallas, Texas. She has covered news for ChristianHeadlines.com since 2014. She has also contributed to The Houston Chronicle, U.S. News and World Report and IBelieve.com. She blogs at The Migraine Runner.
