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Traces of destruction: craters from an explosion on a road north of Kyiv
Photo: OLEG PETRASYUK / EPA
According to Russia, it intends to increase its rocket fire in Kyiv.
After a military target on the outskirts of the city was attacked with cruise missiles during the night, further attacks on the Ukrainian capital would follow, the Moscow Defense Ministry said.
Explosions were heard in Kyiv on Friday, the highest since the recent withdrawal of Russian troops from the Ukrainian capital.
The Russian Defense Ministry said the night attack hit a factory that builds and repairs missiles.
This included anti-ship missiles.
The Moscow Ministry of Defense had previously announced that the most recently severely damaged flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, the "Moscow", had sunk.
The warship went down in heavy seas while being towed to a port.
The ministry previously said a fire caused an explosion of munitions.
According to the government in Kyiv, however, the »Moscow« was badly hit by Ukrainian rockets.
Information from the war zone cannot always be verified independently, and this is also the case here.
Kyiv speaks of "staged incidents"
The Russian defense ministry justified the attacks on Kyiv with retaliation for Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory, several of which the Russian authorities reported on Thursday.
Russia previously accused Ukraine of firing at least three rockets at an ammunition depot in the city of Belgorod on March 29.
This information cannot be verified either.
In early April, the government in Kyiv rejected Russian accusations that it was responsible for a major fire at a fuel depot near the city.
This would have been the first known Ukrainian attack on targets in Russia since the beginning of the war.
Kyiv has accused Russia of staging incidents to foment "anti-Ukrainian hysteria."
mamk/Reuters/AFP