Russia hails missiles on Ukraine to try and shift blame for concert massacre
It is the third massive missile attack on Ukraine in the past four days.
So many missiles have pounded Ukraine since the massacre in a Moscow concert hall last week that one briefly entered Polish airspace.
A hail of missiles in the early hours of this morning was the third massive attack in the past four days.
It comes after more than 130 people at the Crocus City Hall music venue were killed when gunmen broke in and opened fire on the audience watching a rock band, leaving the building in flames.
An affiliate of the so-called Islamic State claimed responsibility for the deadliest attack on Russian soil in years.
But Vladimir Putin has sought to link the attack to Ukraine, saying those responsible were caught fleeing south towards Kyiv.
Mr Putin’s claim that the attackers tried to flee to Ukraine followed comments by Russian lawmakers who pointed the finger at Ukraine immediately after the attack.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky angrily rejected Moscow’s accusations, saying: ‘They are burning our cities and they are trying to blame Ukraine.
‘They drove hundreds of thousands of their terrorists here to fight us on our Ukrainian soil, and they don’t care what happens inside their own country.
Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv’s military administration, said Russia used cruise missiles launched from Tu-95MS strategic bombers in the latest missile attacks
An air alert in the capital lasted for more than two hours as rockets entered Kyiv in groups from the north.
Mr Popko said the attacks were launched from the Engels district in the Saratov region of Russia.
According to preliminary data, there were no casualties or damage in the capital, he added.
The operation command of Nato member Poland said in a statement there was a violation of its airspace at 3.23am by one of the cruise missiles launched by Russia.
The object entered near the Polish town of Oserdow and stayed there for 39 seconds, the statement said.
It added that military radar systems observed the missile the entire time and all necessary procedures were launched to ensure the safety of Polish airspace.
This is a developing news story, more to follow soon… Check back shortly for further updates.
Got a story? Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected]. Or you can submit your videos and pictures here.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
Follow Metro.co.uk on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news updates. You can now also get Metro.co.uk articles sent straight to your device. Sign up for our daily push alerts here.
