Russia increases the threat on kyiv and Donbas

Moscow has threatened to resume bombing kyiv if Ukrainian troops and militants keep up their attacks on Russian enclaves. The warning comes hours after the launch of rockets on a border town and the sinking of the Moskva, the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet, whose cause, like almost everything in this war, has two versions. Ukraine defends the shipwreck as a war “success” as it claims that she torpedoed the cruiser, while the Kremlin claims that she accidentally sank after a fire on board that caused her ammunition to explode.

“The number and magnitude of missile attacks on places in kyiv will increase in response to all terrorist-type attacks and sabotage perpetrated on Russian territory by the nationalist regime in kyiv,” the Russian Ministry spokesman announced a few hours ago. of Defense, Igor Konashenkov. And the reality is that the anti-aircraft sirens made themselves felt again last morning on the outskirts of the capital, which is beginning to regain some stability and where hundreds of refugees have already returned to their homes.

According to the Russian authorities, its batteries have destroyed a missile factory and explosions have also been heard in Vasylkiv, southwest of the big city. The Pentagon has confirmed that, despite the withdrawal of the invading forces surrounding the city, Russia maintains intact its ability to launch an attack on kyiv with medium and long-range missiles.

The Kremlin already made its threat on the capital public on Wednesday night, but now it has gained more weight. His argument is that Ukrainian helicopters have repeatedly bombed Russian villages along the border. However, the Ukrainian and American intelligence also foresaw a redoubling of these threats after the sinking of the Moskva, which suggests that it is a retaliation because the Ukrainian Army effectively destroyed the ship, or because of a Moscow strategy to mine local resistance after the severe setback suffered by its fleet.

Although kyiv denies that it has bombed areas of Russia and attributes these events to “terrorist attacks” carried out by the Kremlin’s secret services, the reality is that the invading forces are pressing harder and harder in southeastern Ukraine. The Russians claim to have killed around thirty “Polish mercenaries” in the last few hours and are intensifying the punishment of Mariupol, the port city that is currently concentrating the battle for Donbas and control of the Sea of ​​Azov.

The authorities warn that 22,000 civilians could have already died in this place where 120,000 people would be trapped. kyiv has denounced, for its part, the murder of seven civilians due to the shots fired by Russian troops against an evacuation bus in Kharkov. Another 27 people have been injured in this shooting.

The loss of the Moskva continues this Friday as one of the great unknowns of the latest battles for maritime dominance. Not even the Pentagon has managed to shed light on the causes of the sinking and his spokesman, John Kirby, has specified that he cannot confirm any version. Of course, it certifies that it has been a “hard blow” to the Russian flora, to the extent that the CIA has considered the thesis that this latest setback – together with those suffered by the ground troops in these fifty days of war –could lead Russian President Vladimir Putin to step up and use low-intensity nuclear weapons. However, the director of the agency, William Burns, has reported that “there are no concrete signs in this regard.” Rather, the monitoring of Russian movements supports the existence of a large concentration and regrouping operation of troops in the southeast to definitively conquer the strip that joins Crimea and Donbas.

If the Russian flagship sank due to a torpedo attack or was caused by a major loss, the fact is that it has forced to reconfigure the position of other ships in the fleet. The cruiser “ensured air cover from other ships during her operations,” especially those focused on protecting the landing of troops or coastal bombardments, describes the spokesman for the Odessa military administration, Sergey Bratchuk.

The Kremlin reported Thursday night that the ship capsized while being towed to port after losing “its stability due to damage to the hull” from the fire and the explosion of the ammunition. The most significant thing is that there is no part about the loss of human lives, when she enlisted between 500 and almost 800 sailors. The Ukrainian president, Volodimir Zelensky, congratulated himself in a video for the disappearance of the Moskva. “Russian ships can only be on the bottom,” he commented.