UKRAINE president Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday accused Russia of trying to "destroy" Ukrainians and wipe them "off the face of the earth", as per local media. This comes after eight people were reported dead and 24 injured after Russia attacked Ukraine including in its capital city Kyiv on Monday morning.
Local media also reported explosions from Zhytomyr, Khmelnytsky, Dnipro, and Ternopil.
The recent attack comes in the backdrop of the recent attacks on the Crimea bridge that reportedly killed three people and Russia's weekend attack on the city of Zaporizhzhia that killed residents as they slept in their homes and injured at least 70 people.
The attack on central Kyiv killed eight people while injuring 24 persons. As of around 8:45 am, six cars caught fire and over 15 cars were damaged as a result of the attack on Kyiv's Shevchenkivskyi district, advisor to Ukraine's Interior Minister, Rostyslav Smirnov was quoted saying by Kyiv Independent.
The blast on Monday was the first major attack on the capital Kyiv since June. Video of cars ablaze in the middle of a downtown street in Kyiv went viral on social media platforms, reported Washington Post.
Earlier, on Saturday a truck exploded on Kerch bridge that resulted into seven fuel tanks of a train moving toward the Crimean Peninsula catching fire. The incident caused the partial collapse of two spans of the road bridge, according to media reports.
Following the incident, the Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on enhancing security measures for the Crimea bridge. In the decree, Putin also called for securing the energy bridge and the gas pipeline connecting the peninsula with mainland Russia.
According to media reports, Putin is likely to hold an operational meeting of his Security Council today (Monday).
Meanwhile, on the same day at least 17 people were killed and 40 others injured after a rocket struck Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia area. Acting Mayor of Zaporizhzhia Anatoly Kurtev said that in the attack, five houses were destroyed and apartment buildings were damaged, CNN reported.
(With inputs from ANI)