At least 14 people are reported to have been killed and 97 injured, Ukraine’s Emergency Services said in an update on Monday night, after Russia launched a massive wave of strikes targeting cities across Ukraine. Many of the locations hit by cruise missiles and kamikaze drones during the morning rush hour appeared to be solely civilian sites or key pieces of infrastructure, apparently chosen to terrorise Ukrainians.
Russian president Vladimir Putin said the wave of strikes on Ukraine was in response to the attack on the Kerch bridge linking Russia and Crimea. The Russian leader warned of even more “severe retaliation” in the event of further Ukrainian attacks. “Let there be no doubt,” Putin said in televised comments addressed to his security council, “if attempts at terrorist attacks continue, the response from Russia will be severe.”
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said his country was “dealing with terrorists” and accused Russia of targeting power facilities and civilians following the missile attacks. “They deliberately chose such a time, such goals, in order to cause as much harm as possible,” the Ukrainian leader said.
US president Joe Biden said the US “strongly condemns” the Russian missile strikes on cities across Ukraine, which demonstrate Putin’s “utter brutality” against the Ukrainian people. In a separate statement, the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said the international community “has a responsibility” to make clear that Putin’s actions are “completely unacceptable”.
The UN’s secretary general, António Guterres, said he was “deeply shocked” by the Russian air strikes. This morning’s attacks “constitute another unacceptable escalation of the war and, as always, civilians are paying the highest price,” UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said.
The United Nations general assembly voted to reject Russia’s call for the 193-member body to hold a secret ballot later this week on whether to condemn Moscow’s move to annex four partially occupied regions in Ukraine.
The assembly decided, with 107 votes in favour, that it would hold a public vote – not a secret ballot – on a draft resolution that condemns Russia’s “illegal so-called referenda” and the “attempted illegal annexation”. Diplomats said the vote on the resolution would likely be on Wednesday or Thursday.
Nato’s secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, condemned the “horrific and indiscriminate” missile attacks by Russia on civilian targets in Ukraine. The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said she was “shocked and appalled”. Her European Council counterpart, Charles Michel, unequivocally labelled the actions by Russia as war crimes.
Members of the Group of Seven, and Zelenskiy, will hold emergency talks on Tuesday, a German government spokesperson has confirmed. Zelenskiy confirmed he would address G7 leaders, adding that he had spoken to Germany’s chancellor, Olaf Scholz, about increasing pressure on Russia as well as aid for Ukraine.
The Belarusian president, Alexander Lukashenko, said Belarus and Russia would deploy a joint military task force on the country’s western borders in response to what he called an aggravation of tension. The two countries had started pulling forces together two days ago, apparently after the explosion on Russia’s bridge to Crimea, Lukashenko was quoted as saying. Poland has released guidance advising its citizens in Belarus to leave the country.
The former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev has been included on a list of wanted persons put together by Ukraine security officials. A statement released by Ukraine’s security service, the SBU, said Medvedev, now deputy chairman of Russia’s Security, was wanted under a section of the criminal code dealing with attempts to undermine Ukraine’s territorial integrity and the inviolability of its borders. Most of the Russian Security Council’s members are on the list.
The International Committee of the Red Cross has confirmed its teams have paused their field work in Ukraine for security reasons. The Norwegian Refugee Council have also said that it has paused its aid operations in Ukraine until it is safe to resume. “Our aid workers are hiding from a barrage of bombs and in fear of repeated attacks,” it said.
The president of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, will visit Moscow on Tuesday to meet Putin, UAE state media reported. Mohamed “will discuss with President Putin the friendly relations between the UAE and Russia along with a number of regional and international issues and developments of common interest”, the UAE’s state-owned news agency WAM said.
Putin may meet Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, at a summit in Kazakhstan this week. The Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, told reporters it was “possible” the pair could discuss a Turkish proposal to host talks between Russia and the west on Ukraine.
Zelenskiy said Ukraine “counts on Britain’s leadership” after a phone call with the UK prime minister, Liz Truss, on Monday. Zelenskiy’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said he also spoke with his UK counterpart, James Cleverly, who assured him of Britain’s unwavering support of Ukraine.
The European Union has announced it will extend a bloc-wide protection scheme for Ukrainian refugees into 2024. Ukrainians in the EU who choose to return to their country will still be able to maintain their refugee status, as long as they notify the relevant EU country of their move, according to the EU’s home affairs commissioner, Ylva Johansson.
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