Several killed as explosions rock multiple Ukrainian cities

Multiple explosions rocked Ukraine's capital Kyiv on Monday morning local media reported citing the city's mayor.

Plumes of smoke were seen billowing out from several areas in Kyiv.

Explosions also reported in the cities of Lviv, Zhytomyr, Khmelnytsky, Dnipro and, Ternopil. Multiple explosions are being reported in cities all across the country. Eyewitnesses are reporting powerful explosions and power outages in Kyiv, according to The Kyiv Independent.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that many people have killed and injured in multiple strikes across the country.

Dramatic footage of BBC correspondent Hugo Bachega who was reporting live from the area ducking as explosions were heard in the capital Kyiv, soon began to be circulated on social media. Suddenly, several explosions were heard from behind following which the reporting was cut short.

Ukraine's local media portal Kyiv Independent quoted city mayor Vitali Klitschko stating that there had been multiple explosions and that the emergency services were on site.

The explosions came in the wake of the attack on the Kerch bridge -- the only road connects Crimean Peninsula to Russia -- on Saturday where a truck exploded, causing seven fuel tanks of a train heading to the Crimean Peninsula to catch fire.

Three people were killed in the blast, which also led to the partial collapse of two spans of the road bridge, according to media reports.

Shortly afterwards, the Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on enhancing security measures for the Crimea bridge.

In the decree, Putin also called for securing the energy bridge and the gas pipeline connecting the peninsula with mainland Russia.

Media reports said that Putin plans to hold an operational meeting of his Security Council on Monday.

The bridge was opened in 2018 by Putin, four years after Moscow annexed Crimea and was designed to link the peninsula to Russia's transport network.

The 19-kilometre bridge, which runs across the Kerch Strait and connects Crimea with mainland Russia, consists of a railway and vehicle sections. It became fully operational in 2020.

On Saturday, at least 17 people were killed and 40 others injured after a rocket struck Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia area.

Acting Mayor of Zaporizhzhia Anatoly Kurtev said that in the attack, five houses were destroyed and apartment buildings were damaged, CNN reported.