[WATCH] Russian bombs rain down on major Ukrainian cities

Ukrainian cities, including the capital Kyiv, have come under renewed attack from Russian missiles on Monday.

At least 75 missiles have been fired during the wave of attacks, according to Ukraine's military chief.

In Kyiv, at least eight civilians have been killed and 24 injured in the first missile strike on the capital in many months. The city's mayor said “critical infrastructure” was also hit.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky highlighted strikes that took place in Dnipro and Zaporizhzhia, saying Russia was “trying to wipe us off the face of the Earth”.

The mayor of Kharkiv said missiles hit an energy infrastructure site, causing power and water outages there.

But missile strikes were also reported in Ternopil and Lviv in the west, which largely escaped the worst of the war. Blasts were also reported in the regions of Sumy, Zhytomyr, Khmelnytskyi and Kirovohrad.

Russia has not yet commented on the bombings but it is widely believed they are retaliatory strikes for the part-destruction of the bridge connecting the occupied Crimean Peninsula with Russian territory over the weekend.

Russian forces withdrew from the outskirts of Kyiv and other northern areas at the start of April as Russia re-focussed its military efforts in the east and south.

Since then, most Ukrainian cities in the north and west have experienced relative calm until today.

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola described the fresh wave of attacks as “sickening”.

What is happening now in #Kyiv is sickening.

It shows the world, again, the regime we are faced with: One that targets indiscriminately. One that rains terror & death down on children.

This is criminal. They will be held to account. Ukraine will win. Europe will not look away. pic.twitter.com/0I594UlCMg

— Roberta Metsola (@EP_President) October 10, 2022

“It shows the world, again, the regime we are faced with: One that targets indiscriminately. One that rains terror and death down on children,” she tweeted.

Metsola said Russia will be held to account. “Ukraine will win. Europe will not look away,” she insisted.