Putin boasts of ‘massive’ strike across Ukraine; Kyiv seeks ‘resolute response’ from allies

A series of blasts rocked the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv on Oct. 10, damaging buildings and vehicles. (Video: Reuters)

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KYIV, Ukraine — Russian President Vladimir Putin boasted of a “massive" strike across Ukraine at a meeting of his Security Council on Monday. Accusing Ukraine’s special services of carrying out an attack on the Crimean Bridge, Putin warned of future “harsh” reprisal: “Its scale will correspond to the level of threats." The torrent of attacks — including in the heart of Kyiv, the first major strikes there in months — on energy facilities and civilian targets spurred Ukrainian officials to call for a “resolute response" from allies.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tweeted Monday that he had an urgent call with French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss “air defense, the need for a tough European and international reaction, as well as increased pressure on the Russian Federation.” Ukraine’s prime minister said 11 infrastructure facilities in eight regions and the city of Kyiv were damaged, warning of interruptions to electricity, water and communication — in addition to attacks on a children’s playground, museums and educational institutions. Attacks were reported in key areas including Kharkiv in the northeast, Lviv in the west, and Zaporizhzhia and Dnipro in the center.

Here’s what to know

• Russian President Vladimir Putin has blamed Ukraine for the attack on the strategic Crimean Bridge, calling it an “act of terror.” He characterized the explosion as an attempt to destroy “critical civilian infrastructure of the Russian Federation.”
• While the Ukrainian government hasn’t officially claimed responsibility for the predawn blast Saturday that plunged sections of the Crimean Bridge into the Kerch Strait, a Ukrainian official told The Washington Post that the country’s special services were behind the attack.
• The Kyiv blasts, the first major attacks on the capital since June, killed five and injured 12, according to Ukraine’s national police, though other counts varied. Yet even when Russian forces were on the outskirts of the capital in the early months of the war, no attack had hit so directly in the city center.
• Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko announced that he and Putin agreed to “deploy a joint regional grouping of troops” in response to the “aggravated situation” in Ukraine. It’s not immediately clear where this grouping would be based.

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