Russia accused of war crimes as missiles strike cities across Ukraine

Western states including Ireland have accused Russia of war crimes after it fired scores of missiles at Ukrainian cities during the morning rush hour, killing at least 11 people, injuring dozens and destroying civilian infrastructure in an attack the Kremlin threatened to repeat.

Russian president Vladimir Putin made clear that the bombardment was a response to an explosion on Saturday that struck the only bridge linking Russia to occupied Crimea, and said Moscow would react in a similar way to any other “terrorist attacks” by Ukraine.

US president Joe Biden said the attacks “killed and injured civilians and destroyed targets with no military purpose,” and he pledged to “hold Putin and Russia accountable for its atrocities and war crimes, and provide the support necessary for Ukrainian forces to defend their country”.

European Council president Charles Michel said Russia’s “horrendous attacks”, which come amid a string of battlefield defeats for Russian forces in Ukraine, “show the desperation of the Kremlin. These indiscriminate attacks on civilians are war crimes.”

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Putin says Russia strikes on Ukraine a response to 'terrorist acts'

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[ Q&A: Who was behind the Crimea bridge blast and how did they do it? ]

[ Partial destruction of bridge linking Crimea to Russia is another embarrassment for Kremlin ]

Taoiseach Micheál Martin condemned Monday’s attacks and others in recent days that killed dozens of Ukrainian civilians in their homes: “These deliberate acts of terror are nothing short of war crimes. We will continue every effort to hold Russia accountable for these blatant breaches of international law,” he said.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy spoke to several western leaders in the aftermath of the strikes, including French president Emmanuel Macron, who said separately that Russia’s “deliberate strikes” against civilians marked “a profound change of the nature of this war.”

Mr Zelenskiy and other Ukrainian officials called for the urgent delivery of more anti-aircraft and anti-missile weapons to their country, and Germany announced that within days it would deliver the first of four IRIS-T SLM air defence systems that it has pledged to Kyiv.

The military general staff in Kyiv said that on Monday morning Russia fired 84 cruise missiles and 24 drones at Ukraine, and that a total of 56 of those projectiles were shot down by Ukrainian air defences. Some Ukrainian cities reported further rocket and drone strikes on Monday afternoon and evening.

The morning after Mr Putin first blamed Ukraine for an explosion that destroyed part of the €3.9 billion Crimea bridge that he opened in 2018, he said “a massive strike by Russia’s long-range air-, sea- and ground-based precision weapons was delivered against Ukrainian energy, military command and communications facilities.

“If attempts continue to carry out terror attacks on our territory, Russia’s responses will be tough and correspond in scale to the level of threats posed to the Russian Federation. No one should have any doubts about that,” he warned.

Shortly after missiles hit the heart of Kyiv, Mr Zelenskiy said in an address recorded outside his administration in the city centre that Ukraine was “dealing with terrorists ... They want panic and chaos, they want to destroy our energy system.”

“They are trying to destroy us and wipe us off the face of the earth ... destroy our people who are sleeping at home ... who are going to work,” he added.