Russian authorities have accused Ukraine of launching airstrikes on residential buildings in Bryansk and wounding seven people. Authorities in another border region of Russia also reported Ukrainian shelling Thursday.
New Delhi: Responding to Ukraine’s alleged military diversions on the Russian territory, Russia’s Defense Ministry has decided to speed up missile attacks on the Ukrainian capital.
The reaction of the Russian government came a day after Moscow suffered a “humiliating” defeat after losing the flagship vessel of Moscow’s Black Sea Fleet through its Neptune missile. However, Russia contradicted Ukraine’s claim saying that the vessel was damaged after a fire.
Russian authorities have also accused Ukraine of launching airstrikes on residential buildings in Bryansk and wounding seven people. Authorities in another border region of Russia also reported Ukrainian shelling Thursday.
In his address on Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Ukrainians they should be proud of having survived 50 days under Russian attack when the invaders “gave us a maximum of five.” Zelenskyy had also mentioned “those who showed that Russian warships can sail away, even if it’s to the bottom” of the sea. It was his only reference to the Moskva.
News about the flagship overshadowed Russian claims of advances in the southern port city of Mariupol, where Moscow’s forces have been battling the Ukrainians since the early days of the invasion in some of the heaviest fighting of the war — at a horrific cost to civilians.
“The ammunition on board detonated as a result of a fire. The “main missile weapons” were not damaged and the crew abandoned the vessel. Besides, cruise missiles, the warship also had air-defense missiles and other guns,” Russia’s Defense Ministry said
The Neptune is an anti-ship missile that was recently developed by Ukraine based on an earlier Soviet design.
In a social media post Friday, the UK Ministry of Defense said the ship, which returned to operational service last year after a major refit, “served a key role as both a command vessel and air defense node.”
The sinking “means Russia has now suffered damage to two key naval assets since invading Ukraine, the first being Russia’s Alligator-class landing ship Saratov on 24 March. Both events will likely lead Russia to review its maritime posture in the Black Sea,” the British ministry said.
“They’ve lost 500 tanks, another 2,000 other vehicles, 82 aircraft, 18,000+ soldiers and a battlecruiser. NATO hasn’t even arrived yet. It is fair to say that this war against NATO is not going well for Russia,” a user tweeted.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, expected to have lost potentially thousands of fighters. The ongoing conflict has killed uncounted numbers of Ukrainian civilians and forced millions to leave the country.
