Putin boasts of ‘massive strike’ across Ukraine in significant escalation of war

By Missy Ryan, Jennifer Hassan, Isabelle Khurshudyan, Rachel Pannett, Nick Parker, Maite Fernández Simon, Emily Rauhala, Praveena Somasundaram and Sammy Westfall Updated October 10, 2022 at 11:30 p.m. EDT|Published October 10, 2022 at 1:22 a.m. EDT

KYIV, Ukraine — Waves of Russian strikes across Ukraine brought the war back to downtown Kyiv, a significant escalation that raises pressure on the United States and other European countries to provide Kyiv with the most advanced weapons systems.

Russian President Vladimir Putin described the string of strikes, which Ukrainian authorities said killed 14, as retaliation for a weekend blast that damaged the Crimean Bridge, a strategic and symbolic disaster for the leader.

Global leaders expressed shock and declared strengthened resolve to support Ukraine, but there has been no indication of an accelerated timeline or additional pledges of more sophisticated weapons and defense systems — a long-standing request Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeated in the wake of the attacks.

• Zelensky said he would address an emergency virtual meeting of the Group of Seven industrialized nations on Tuesday.

• Putin, who blamed Ukraine for the attack on the strategic Crimean Bridge, boasted of a “massive strike” across Ukraine at a meeting of his Security Council.

• President Biden condemned the strikes, which he said “killed and injured civilians and destroyed targets with no military purpose.”

• The blasts killed 14 people and injured more than 95 across Ukraine, according to Ukraine’s State Emergency Service.

• Ukrainian officials reported drone and missile strikes in at least 10 areas of Ukraine on Monday, including in central Kyiv. The strikes hit key energy facilities in some regions, officials said, causing power outages.

• Residents of Kyiv expressed anger, fear and defiance after the first major strikes in the capital in months.

(Source: The Washington Post)