Moscow (agencies)
Yesterday, Russia warned against using depleted uranium missiles or making any Ukrainian attempt to control Crimea, announcing that it had destroyed a warehouse of Ukrainian drones in the Odessa region.
The Russian Ministry of Defense said that its forces destroyed a warehouse of drones belonging to the Ukrainian forces in the Odessa region, in the southwest of the country.
In a statement, the ministry warned that the use of depleted uranium shells in Ukraine would harm Ukrainian forces and the population as a whole, and negatively affect the country’s agricultural sector for decades or even centuries.
Russia responded with outrage over plans announced by Britain a few days ago to send missiles containing depleted uranium to Ukraine.
For his part, the Deputy Chairman of the Russian National Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, warned yesterday that “any Ukrainian attempt to seize Crimea – which Moscow annexed in 2014 – will constitute a justification for Russia to use any weapon at all” against Kiev in response.
Medvedev added that nothing could be ruled out, saying that “if necessary” the Russian army would reach Kiev or Lviv.
Medvedev said that Moscow does not plan to enter into a direct conflict with NATO, and that it is interested in resolving the Ukrainian crisis through talks, according to the Russian news agency “Interfax”.
On the ground, Russian forces attacked the northern and southern parts of the front in the Donbass region in eastern Ukraine, yesterday, in continuation of their attacks despite Kiev’s assurances that Moscow’s pressure was slowing down near the city of Bakhmut.
Ukrainian military reports described intense fighting in the northern sector of the front line from Liman to Kobyansk, as well as in the south at Avdiivka on the outskirts of the Russian-controlled city of Donetsk.
The two regions are among the main targets of Russia’s offensives launched over the winter to take full control of Ukraine’s industrial Donbass region. The Russian offensive has so far yielded only minor gains, despite the deaths of thousands of soldiers on both sides in the bloodiest battle since the conflict began.
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