KYIV, Ukraine — One day following suffering a symbolic defeat with the loss of the flagship of its fleet in the Black Sea, the Ministry of Defense of Russia He promised this Friday to increase missile attacks on kyiv in response to alleged Ukrainian “military incursions” on Russian soil.
The threat to intensify attacks on the Ukrainian capital came following Russian officials accused Ukraine of an aerial operation once morest residential buildings in the border region of Bryansk that would have left seven injured.
Authorities in another Russian border region reported similar attacks on Thursday.
Life in kyiv has been gradually returning to some normality following Russia failed to take the city and withdrew its troops from the north of the country to focus on a renewed offensive in the east. The resumption of the attacks might force the population to take refuge in subway stations and live with the constant sound of anti-aircraft sirens.
Ukrainian officials did not confirm the attacks on targets in Russia, and the Russian authorities’ reports might not be independently verified. Ukraine did claim an attack on a major Moscow warship the day before. If true, it would be an important victory for kyiv.
The Moskva, a guided-missile cruiser named following the Russian capital, sank on Thursday while being towed to port following being heavily damaged in circumstances that remain unclear. The Kremlin acknowledged a fire on board but no attack while officials from the United States and other nations might not confirm the cause of the fire.
The sinking of the ship is a serious blow to Moscow’s prestige in a war that is already considered by some to be a historic failure. Entering its eighth week, the Russian invasion has stalled due to resistance from Ukrainian fighters, bolstered with weapons and other aid from Western nations.
During the first days of the conflict, the Moskva would have been the ship that requested the surrender of the Ukrainian soldiers stationed on the Island of Serpents, in the Black Sea. In a recording that went viral, the soldiers respond: “Russian ship, go to hell,” using expletives.
The Associated Press was unable to independently verify the incident, but Ukraine and its supporters consider it an iconic moment for the resistance. The country recently introduced a postage stamp commemorating the episode.
If Ukraine carried out the attack, the Moskva might be the largest warship sunk in combat since the 1982 Falklands War. when a similar vessel, the Argentine ARA General Belgrano, was torpedoed by a British submarine. The more than 300 soldiers of him died.
In his late-night address, President Volodymyr Zelensky he told Ukrainians on Thursday that they should be proud that they survived 50 days under Russian attack when the invaders “gave us a maximum of five.”
