News

Russia Warns It May Strike Ukrainian Capital of Kiev

April 15, 2022

549

Kiev has continued to attempt attacks of sabotage and conventional weaponry attacks inside Russia, yet Moscow has not, to date, struck back at the decision makers in the capital. On Wednesday, the Russian Defense Ministry warned this will change if such attacks do not stop.

“We have seen attempts at sabotage and attacks by the Ukrainian military against facilities in Russian territory. If such attempts continue, the Russian Federation’s Armed Forces will strike at the decision-making centers, including Kiev – something we have so far refrained from,” said Major-General Igor Konashenkov.

Konashenkov was not specific regarding which strikes or attempts at sabotage he was referring to, however, on Monday Russia declared a heightened terrorism alert in three regions bordering Ukraine – Bryansk, Kursk and Belgorod – and several border municipalities in the regions of Krasnodar, Voronezh and Crimea.

This last week has seen vey active air defenses in the Belgorod region, according to local media. Kiev first claimed and later denied an April 1 strike on a fuel depot south of Belgorod. The attack claimed no deaths or injuries but did cause a great deal of material damage.

Russian authorities are currently investigating a March 29 missile attack which saw at least three Tochka-U missiles fired from Ukraine at a military unit near Belgorod. The Tochka-U missiles are internationally banned cluster munitions. Reports say eight Russian citizens were injured; 21 vehicles were damaged as well as some buildings.

The head of the Ukrainian military intelligence noted the heightened terrorism alert was proof Russia was planning false-flag attacks against her own citizens in an attempt to increase flagging support for military operations in Ukraine.

“They are planning explosions in Russian homes or rocket attacks, to blame them on [the Ukrainian military] or volunteer battalions, so as to paint an emotional picture of ‘Ukrainian nationalist atrocities,’” Major-General Kirill Budanov, head of the intelligence directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday. “All in order to emotionally manipulate the Russians and set them against the Ukrainians even more.”

Moscow sent troops into Ukraine on February 24, following a seven-year standoff over Kiev’s failure to implement the terms of the Minsk agreements and end the conflict with the breakaway regions of Donetsk and Lugansk. Russia recognized the two regions as independent states, at which point they asked for military aid.

Russia demands that Ukraine officially declare itself a neutral country. Further, Russia wants Ukraine to declare she will never join the US-led NATO military bloc. Kiev claims the Russian offensive was completely unprovoked and denies claims there are plans to retake the two Donbass republics by force.

https://www.rt.com/russia/553830-kiev-strike-possible/