Kyiv Residents Sing in Bomb Shelters Amid Russian Missile Onslaught—Videos

As missiles rocked the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv on Monday morning, residents sought to raise their spirits by singing songs in the metro stations where they took cover, videos circulating on social media show.

Kyiv residents fled to bomb shelters as multiple missiles struck the city after 8:00 a.m. local time, killing at least five people and injuring a further 51 people, according to Vitalii Klychko, Kyiv’s mayor.

Videos taken at different metro stations used as bomb shelters across the city showed residents largely unphased by the attacks, singing Ukrainian songs together, including the country’s national anthem, a Ukrainian folk song titled “Oh, in the Cherry Orchard” and “How not to love you, my Kyiv.”

Smoke rises above an Orthodox Church in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv after Russian missile strike on October 10, 2022, amid Russian invasion of Ukraine. The head of the Ukrainian military said that Russian forces launched at least 83 missiles at Ukraine on October 10, 2022 with fatal strikes targeting the capital Kyiv, and cities in the south and west. YURIY DYACHYSHYN/AFP/Getty Images

“Quiet day slowly fading, with lights playing the sea, the green slopes of Dnipro became dear to me, where the branches are swaying of lovers delights…How can I not love you, Kyiv, my life! Like a happiness surf, the velvet of nights…How can I not love you, Kyiv, my life!” the lyrics to “How not to love you, my Kyiv” say.

Ukrainians sang amid a missile onslaught nationwide that Russian President Vladimir Putin said was a response to an explosion on the the Kerch Bridge to annexed Crimea on Saturday.

Although Kyiv hasn’t claimed responsibility for the blast, Putin vowed further response should “attempts to carry out terrorist attacks on our territory continue.”

A day earlier, the Russian president Putin blamed Ukrainian secret services for the explosion, which he described as a “terrorist act.”

The explosion damaged a key supply route for Russia’s forces amid the Kremlin’s flagging war effort in Ukraine.

On Monday morning, strikes were reported in at least 14 Ukrainian cities.

Alexey Chepa, a member of the Russian State Duma, told Russia’s state-run news outlet Lenta that they were aimed at taking out “decision-making centers.”

Valerii Zaluzhnyi, commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said on Monday that Russia had launched 83 missiles, of which, 45 were shot down by air defenses.

According to Ukraine’s state emergency service, at least 11 people have been killed across the country in the attacks.

The strikes have been condemned internationally. NATO’s secretary-general, Jens Stoltenberg, said the attacks by Russia in Ukraine were “horrific and indiscriminate.”

Stoltenberg said he had spoken with Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, and pledged NATO’s support for Ukraine amid the war “for as long as it takes.”

Newsweek contacted Russian and Ukrainian authorities for comment.