Russia says its missiles hit Ukrainian military targets, but videos of a burning crater in a Kyiv park paint a very different picture

Authored by businessinsider.com and submitted by silis25

Russian forces launched a deadly barrage of missiles and suicide drones into Ukraine on Monday.

After the attack, Putin claimed his troops targeted Ukrainian military and energy facilities.

Photos and videos of a burning crater in a park — next to a playground — paint a different image.

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Russian forces launched a deadly barrage of missiles and explosive suicide drones into Ukraine on Monday, attacking cities hundreds of miles away from the war's front lines.

After the attacks, Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed the strikes were directed solely at Ukrainian military, energy, and communications targets and were carried out in retaliation for a recent blast on a key Crimean bridge serving as a critical supply line, Russian state media reported.

Videos and photographs captured by journalists show an entirely different situation, one in which Russian munitions landed in civilian areas.

Wall Street Journal reporter Matthew Luxmore posted one video taken in central Kyiv's Shevchenko Park showing a massive crater filled with rubble and small fires directly adjacent to a playground.

AFP journalist Arman Soldin posted another video showing the burning crater from a different angle, highlighting how the explosion occurred just feet away from the area where children would normally play.

"These attacks killed and injured civilians and destroyed targets with no military purpose. They once again demonstrate the utter brutality of Mr. Putin's illegal war on the Ukrainian people," President Joe Biden said in a statement.

In addition to Biden, a wide range of Western officials and heads of state slammed Russia for Monday's attacks, which have killed at least 10 people and injured dozens, according to a Ukrainian member of parliament.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia had two targets in mind when it launched the attacks — the eastern European country's energy facilities and civilians. He specifically called out Russia's use of Iranian-made suicide drones in the barrage, which Putin's forces have been using for weeks now.

"They want panic and chaos," Zelenskyy said in an address to the nation. "Such a time and such goals were specially chosen to cause as much damage as possible."

Monday's carnage comes as Ukrainian forces continue to press ahead with their counteroffensives along the war's eastern and southern fronts, where Ukrainian troops have liberated thousands of square miles of territory previously under Russian occupation.

The missile and drone strikes on Monday were rare occurrences for civilians living in cities like Kyiv and Lviv, cities far from the fighting that have not experienced significant hostilities since the early weeks of Russia's invasion.

They were also one of many escalatory steps Putin has taken in the face of recent military setbacks, with others being the partial military mobilization of Russia's reservists and threatening remarks hinting that he might possibly use a nuclear weapon.

TheRedChair21 on October 10th, 2022 at 20:13 UTC »

Spoke to a Russian tutor today. She said she couldn't understand the war. Also told me Ukraine attacked Russia first. I asked why Russia would invade if all they had to do was defend their borders from the underequipped and corrupt (her words) Ukrainian army.

"Yeah, I told you," she said. "I don't understand any of it."

It doesn't matter if none of us believe what Russia says, because many Russians do, and until that changes, we're going to have to get used to Russian fascism.

notacanuckskibum on October 10th, 2022 at 20:08 UTC »

So they have declared that the German Embassy was a legitimate military target. That should go well for them.

Ragnarsworld on October 10th, 2022 at 18:42 UTC »

Clearly, it was a military park. Troops train on the monkey bars and slide.