KYIV: A military hardware factory in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv was hit by Russian strikes early Saturday, an AFP journalist said, a day after Moscow’s forces bombed a missile production site outside the city.
Smoke rose from the area and there was a heavy police and military presence after Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko announced on social media that there had been explosions in the capital’s Darnyrsky district.
He said one person had been killed in the attack and several more were taken to hospital for treatment.
“Our forces are doing everything possible to protect us, but the enemy is insidious and ruthless,“ he said.
Russia’s defence ministry said its forces had used “high-precision, long-range” weapons to hit facilities at the armaments plant.
The strike on the Ukrainian capital is among the first since invading Russian forces began withdrawing from regions around Kyiv last month, instead turning their focus on gaining control of the eastern Donbas region.
On Friday, Russian strikes hit the Vizar plant, near the capital’s international airport, seriously damaging the facility that produces Neptune cruise missiles.
Neptune missiles were allegedly used to badly damage the iconic Russian warship Moskva that later sank.
Moscow had vowed to step up attacks on Kyiv in the wake of what it said were Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory.
“It’s no secret that a Russian general recently said they were ready for missile attacks on the capital of Ukraine. And, as we see, they are carrying out such shelling,“ Klitschko said.
Residential areas of Kyiv were struck repeatedly at the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Moscow has denied intentionally striking civilian infrastructure. - AFP