The Kremlin claimed that Monday's explosions that shook Kyiv were a result of its "special military operation."
After dozens of Russian missiles struck cities all over the country on Monday morning in what was perceived as retaliation for an explosion on a crucial bridge connecting Russia to the annexation of the Crimean peninsula over the weekend, several Ukrainian cities were left without power or water supplies.
“Everything is happening within the framework of the special military operation,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said when asked by reporters about the explosions in Kyiv and across Ukraine.
In broadcast remarks on Sunday night, President Vladimir Putin referred to the bridge bombing as a "terrorist" act. He made no mention of whether the strikes were in reprisal.
The explosion on the bridge early on Saturday morning, which killed three people and was viewed as a highly symbolic attack on Russia and Putin, according to Peskov, was under investigation in Russia.