Putin is trying to wipe Ukraine off face of earth, says Zelensky after strikes

UKRAINE’S president Volodymyr Zelensky today warned his people that Russia is trying to “wipe us off the face of the earth” as missiles hit Kyiv and other cities in a major retaliatory strike by Vladimir Putin.

- Martin Bentham

Several people were reported to have been killed, with at least eight dying in Kyiv alone. Others were injured in the attacks, which also damaged cars and buildings and forced residents to rush to bomb shelters.

Ukraine’s military said at least 75 Russian missiles had been fired, although more than half had been intercepted before reaching their targets.

The onslaught follows humiliation for Mr Putin at the weekend when a huge explosion destroyed sections of Russia’s only bridge to Crimea. The bridge has since reopened after hasty repairs but a Russian response to what it claimed was a “terrorist” attack was widely anticipated and came early today as the first missile strikes were reported.

The main focus of the attack was the capital Kyiv, which was targeted for the first time in weeks, but other cities hit included Kharkiv in the north, Lviv and Ternopil in the west, and Zaporizhzhia and Dnipro in the south. Explosions were also reported in Sumy, Zhytomyr, Khmelnytskyi and Kirovohrad