Ukraine war: Missiles hit Kyiv and Putin calls security council meeting over Crimea bridge blast

Explosions rocked multiple cities across Ukraine on Monday morning, including Kyiv, which come following months of relative calm in the capital.

At least eight people were killed and 24 were injured in just one of the Kyiv strikes, according to preliminary information from the Ukrainian ministry of internal affairs.

Blasts were reported in the city’s Shevchenko district, a large area in the centre of Kyiv that includes the historic old town as well as several government offices, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

Explosions were also reported in a number of other locations across Ukraine, including the western city of Lviv that has been a refuge for many people fleeing the fighting in the east; as well as Ternopil, Khmelnytskyi, Zhytomyr and Kropyvnytskyi.

"Strikes on energy infrastructure in the Lviv region were recorded," regional governor Maxim Kozitsky said on Telegram, calling on residents "to stay in shelters" in the face of "the threat of further attacks".

The EU's Commissioner for Justice, Belgian politician Didier Reynders, is currently visiting Kyiv and says he was taken to the basement of his hotel by security personnel when the explosions were heard.

Lesia Vasylenko, a member of Ukraine's parliament, posted a photo on Twitter showing that at least one explosion occurred near the main building of the Kyiv National University in central Kyiv.

The spokesperson for Emergency Service in Kyiv said there are dead and wounded people. Rescuers are now working in different locations, said Svitlana Vodolaga.

President Zelenskyy wrote on his Telegram channel that "as a result of the missile attack on Kyiv, there are dead and injured. These are civilians who moved around the city in their own cars."

An adviser to the president, Mikhail