Multiple missile strikes targeted Ukrainian cities, all across the country. on Monday morning, according to local officials and media. The news comes two days after a bomb damaged the strategic Crimean Bridge – which Moscow has labelled a Ukrainian terrorist attack.

The office of Valery Zaluzhny, the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces, reported they had detected at least 75 missiles and claimed they had intercepted 41.

President Vladimir Zelensky confirmed the attacks throughout the country in a video address, saying numerous parts of Ukraine had come under fire, and claimed that Russia was targeting the energy infrastructure. “They want panic and chaos,” he said.

Local officials in Lviv, Kharkov, and Odessa also reported that their cities came under fire.

In Kiev, damage from the strikes was reported near the headquarters of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), which is located in the government area of the capital. City officials halted operations of the metro system, and the stations are now being used as shelters for civilians.

Putin:Kiev terror tactics nothing new

The Kiev regime has long been using terrorist tactics, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in connection with the terrorist attack on the Crimean bridge.

“It is obvious that the instigators, organizers, and perpetrators of the terrorist attack [on the Crimean bridge] are the Ukrainian special services. The Kiev regime has long used terrorist tactics,” the Russian president said on Monday, opening a meeting with the permanent members of the Security Council.

Kiev’s crimes include the killing of public figures, journalists and scientists, “both in Ukraine and Russia.” “These are the terrorist shelling of towns in Donbass, which has been going on for more than eight years. These are also acts of nuclear terrorism, I mean missile and artillery strikes on the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant,” the Russian president listed.

Putin explained that he had already been informed of the first conclusions of the investigation into the sabotage of the Crimean bridge. “Data from forensic and other examinations, as well as operational information, show that the October 8 explosion is a terrorist act. A terrorist act aimed at destroying Russia’s critical civilian infrastructure,” he stated.

On Saturday morning, a truck exploded on the Crimean Bridge, collapsing two eastbound parts of its road section and subsequently setting ablaze a train of fuel tanks on a separate, adjacent rail portion of the bridge. Two spans of the automobile part of the bridge going towards the peninsula collapsed.

Kremlin lauds efficient work to eliminate consequences of terror attack on Crimean Bridge

All the services involved in eliminating the consequences of a terror attack on the Crimean Bridge, including the Emergencies Ministry, worked promptly and efficiently, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.

On Saturday morning, a truck exploded on the Crimean Bridge, collapsing two eastbound parts of its road section and subsequently setting ablaze a train of fuel tanks on a separate, adjacent rail portion of the bridge. As a result of the blast, three people were killed.

“Both the Emergencies Ministry and all other services and agencies involved in eliminating the consequences of this terror attack worked promptly, efficiently and as required,” Peskov said.

A government commission chaired by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin was set up after the incident. Rail traffic has been restored on the bridge, which was also partly reopened for buses and automobiles.

A ferry service between Crimea and mainland Russia is also functioning.

Lukashenko: West is pushing Ukraine towards war with Belarus

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has said that it would be absolutely senseless for Ukraine to open a second front on the Belarusian border, but the West is pushing it towards starting such a war.

“I have already said that Ukraine today it is not just discussing but planning strikes on Belarusian territory. Of course, the Ukrainians absolutely do not need this. Well, why should they open a second front on our southern borders – on their northern ones? From the military point of view this is madness,” the BelTA news agency quotes Lukashenko as saying at a meeting on security issues.

“Nevertheless, the process has begun. They are being pushed by their patrons towards unleashing a war against Belarus in order to drag us into it and to deal with Russia and Belarus simultaneously.”

Lukashenko recalled that he had warned about the threats on the western border at the very beginning of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine. He promised that Belarus would not permit anyone to stab the Russian forces in the back.

“I was very well aware then that the most dangerous direction for us is the western one. If we had left it unprotected, a war would be on our doorstep today. But we preferred to keep our armed forces there. Moreover, we strengthened the western direction,” Lukashenko said.

He stressed that the latest events on the Crimean bridge indicated a significant increase in the level of terrorist threat.

“They are ready to fight with everyone now,” Lukashenko added.

Source: Agencies