Ukraine war: Moscow threatens retaliation following Moskva warship sinking and air strikes

While Russia has not acknowledged that Ukrainian missiles hit and sunk its cruiser Moskva, the flagship of its Black Sea fleet, it appeared to retaliate on Friday, striking a factory in Kyiv that made and repaired anti-ship missiles.

The Moskva sank on Thursday after what Kyiv said was a Ukrainian missile strike, dealing one of the heaviest blows yet to Moscow’s war effort and providing a stunning symbol of Kyiv’s resistance against a better-armed foe.

Kyiv was then hit on Friday by some of the most powerful explosions heard since Russian forces withdrew from the area two weeks ago. “The number and scale of missile strikes on targets in Kyiv will increase in response to any terrorist attacks or acts of sabotage on Russian territory committed by the Kyiv nationalist regime,” the Russian Defence Ministry said in a statement.

The threat of intensified attacks on Kyiv also came after Russian authorities accused Ukraine of wounding seven people and damaging about 100 residential buildings with air strikes on Bryansk, a region that borders Ukraine. Authorities in another border region also reported Ukrainian shelling on Thursday.

Kirill Kyrylo, 38, a worker at a Kyiv car repair shop, said he saw three blasts hit an industrial building across the street. The factory was partly destroyed, an AFP journalist at the scene saw on Friday.

Earlier, Ukraine said it hit the Moskva with missiles fired from the coast. Russia did not confirm the attack, saying the ship sank while being towed in stormy seas after a fire caused by an explosion of ammunition. Moscow said more than 500 sailors had been evacuated. There was no independent confirmation of the fate of the crew.