SPECULUM VERUM
For the first time in months struck on Monday morning, in the middle of rush hour, again missiles in Kyiv, other cities were also shelled. The Ukrainian civil defense spoke of eleven fatalities nationwide and at least 64 injured.
Five hours and 37 Minutes lasted the air alert in Kyiv on Monday. According to Ukrainian media, it was the longest air raid in the capital since the war began 24. February. Other targets of the Russian air raids were the cities of Kharkiv, Chmelnyzky, Dnipro, live, Mykolajiw, Poltawa, Saporischschja, Zhytomyr and Ternopil.
The situation remains unclear. Little can be verified independently. An overview.
In addition to residential buildings, one of the busiest crossroads in Kyiv was attacked. Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko spoke of it, that important infrastructure in the capital had been attacked. The Foreign Office reported damage to the visa section of the German embassy in Kyiv, which, however, was not occupied.
In Lviv, which has been considered comparatively safe since the beginning of the war, According to regional governor Maxim Kosizky, the energy infrastructure was attacked. The electricity broke in parts of the city- and hot water supply together.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense spoke of it, that Russia as a whole 83 fired rockets. 41 of which were intercepted by the air defense. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, Russia also used Iranian-made drones in the attacks. Some of the drones are said to have started in Belarus or Crimea.
The attacks followed two days after the massive explosion on the Crimean bridge , the connection between the annexed peninsula and the Russian mainland. Vladimir Putin spoke on Monday of a reaction to the "terrorist attacks" in view of the rocket attacks, they are precision attacks against the energy, Military- and communications infrastructure.
Putin came under pressure after the explosion on the Crimean bridge, A tough reaction was demanded in Moscow after the prestige project had been severely damaged. On Saturday, Putin issued a decree for improved protection of the bridge. Officially, the Ukrainian secret service SBU was held responsible for the explosion, there was no confirmation from Kyiv.
The Ukrainian foreign minister reacted strongly to the Kremlin's statements: "No, Putin was not 'provoked' by the Crimean Bridge to rocket terror.", he tweeted. “Russia kept hitting Ukraine with rockets in front of the bridge. Desperate because of the defeats on the battlefield, Putin is trying rocket terror, to change the pace of war in his favor."
The Ukrainian military intelligence service also expressed doubts, that the attacks were a direct response to the Crimean Bridge explosion. Accordingly, the Kremlin had already instructed its troops at the beginning of October, prepare for missile attacks. Accordingly, critical and civil infrastructure and central areas of densely populated cities are identified as targets.
The attacks caused outrage internationally. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg condemned "terrible and indiscriminate attacks", UN Secretary-General António Guterres was "deeply shocked". French President Emmanuel Macron assured Selenskyj of his "full support" in a telephone call.
Even the Indian government, which is neutral in the Russian war of aggression due to close ties to Moscow, expressed concern. India called for an immediate end to hostilities and offered support for de-escalation efforts, said a spokesman for the State Department.
Meanwhile, the Red Cross suspended its relief efforts in Ukraine. »For safety reasons, our teams have suspended their work today«, said a spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross. Also the Norwegian Refugee Aid (NRC) explained, they have stopped their relief operations in Ukraine, until it is sufficiently safe, to resume them.
A functioning air defense seems more important than ever in Ukraine. Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Green) said: 'We do everything, to quickly reinforce the Ukrainian air defenses.«
Baerbock spoke with a view of the Russian rocket fire from people in fear of death in Kiev's morning traffic and an impact crater next to a playground and said: 'It's vile and unjustifiable, that Putin is firing rockets at cities and civilians.«
Secretary of Defense Christine Lambrecht (SPD) had previously affirmed, to provide the first of four state-of-the-art Iris-T SLM air defense systems in the next few days. Lambrecht had announced a quick delivery a week and a half ago in Odessa.