Powerful explosions were heard in Kyiv early Friday, and air raid sirens sounded across Ukraine as residents prepared for new Russian attacks after Moscow’s main warship in the Black Sea sank after a fire.
The blasts appeared among the most significant in the capital region of Ukraine after Russian troops withdrew from the area earlier this month in preparation for battles south and east.
Ukraine has claimed responsibility for sinking Moscow, saying the Soviet-era flagship of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet was hit by one of its missiles. The ship sank late Thursday as it was being towed to port, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
More than 500 crew aboard the missile cruiser were evacuated after an explosion of ammunition on board, the ministry said, without acknowledging the attack. Ukraine claims to have hit the warship with a local Neptune anti-ship missile.
The loss of the ship comes as the Russian navy continues to bomb Ukrainian cities in the Black Sea nearly 50 days after the invasion began. Residents of Odessa and Mariupol in the neighboring Sea of Azov are preparing for new Russian attacks.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hinted at a video message about the sinking of a warship early in the morning, warning of Russia’s intentions to attack the eastern region of Donbass, including Mariupol.
Zelensky paid tribute to all “those who stopped the progress of the endless convoys of Russian military equipment … Those who showed that Russian ships can go down … to the bottom.”
There were no immediate reports of damage following the blasts in Kyiv, Kherson in the south, the eastern city of Kharkiv and the western city of Ivano-Frankivsk. Ukrainian media reported power outages in parts of Kyiv.
Air raid sirens sounded in all regions of Ukraine shortly after midnight on Friday and continued to sound in the eastern regions of Luhansk and Zaporozhye, even after those elsewhere subsided, Ukrainian media reported.
Reuters could not immediately verify the reports.
Whatever the reason for Moscow’s loss, the episode is a failure for Russia. If Ukraine’s claim that it hit the ship in a missile strike turns out to be true, the attack will go down in history as one of the strongest naval attacks to date.
Russia’s Defense Ministry says it is investigating the cause of the fire on board. The United States has said it does not have enough information to determine whether Moscow was hit by a missile.
“[But] “Certainly the way this has developed is a big blow to Russia,” said National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.
Russian forces withdrew from some northern parts of Ukraine after suffering heavy losses and failing to capture Kyiv. Ukraine and its Western allies say Moscow is redeploying to a new offensive in the Eastern Donbass region.
Russia launched its attack in part to dissuade Ukraine from joining NATO. But the invasion has prompted Finland, which shares a long border with Russia, and nearby Sweden to consider joining the US-led military alliance.
Moscow warned NATO on Thursday that if Sweden and Finland join, Russia will deploy nuclear weapons and hypersonic missiles in a Russian enclave in the Baltic Sea, in the heart of Europe.
Commenting on Russia’s military failures, CIA Director William Burns said the threat of Russia using nuclear weapons in Ukraine could not be taken lightly, but the agency did not see much practical evidence to heighten that concern.
Moscow describes its invasion as a “special military operation” aimed at demilitarizing Ukraine. Kyiv and its allies say Russia has started an unprovoked war that has seen more than 4.6 million people flee abroad and kill or injure thousands.
The Russian navy has fired cruise missiles at Ukraine, and its activities in the Black Sea are crucial to supporting ground operations in the south and east, where they are struggling to gain full control of Mariupol.
Russia said on Wednesday that more than 1,000 Ukrainian Marines from one of the units still holding in Mariupol had surrendered. Ukrainian authorities did not comment.
If taken, Mariupol will be the first major city to fall from Russian forces since the invasion, allowing Moscow to strengthen the land corridor between separatist-controlled areas of eastern Donbass and the Crimean region that it captured and annexed in 2014. .
Ukraine says tens of thousands of people are believed to have been killed in Mariupol, where efforts are being made to evacuate civilians.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said late Thursday that 815 people had been evacuated from the city in the past 24 hours. Ukraine said the figure was 289.
Our morning and evening newsletters are written by Globe editors, giving you a brief summary of the most important headlines of the day. Register today.
Add Comment