Russia’s Defence Ministry threatens to intensify strikes on Kyiv after Zelensky’s interview

Russia will intensify strikes on Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine, the Russian Defence Ministry announced on Sunday — a response to an interview by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in which he vowed that Kyiv would double its strikes on Russian oil refineries, as Reuters reports.

The ministry said Russian forces would step up strikes on military facilities, defence-industry sites and related infrastructure in Kyiv and elsewhere in Ukraine.

Zelensky had told Reuters in the interview published on Saturday that Ukraine would double its strikes on Russian refineries, in response to Russia’s new aerial-strike policy aimed at forcing people to abandon Kyiv and other cities — but without hitting civilians. 24-ore.com reported the interview yesterday.

In recent days Russia has escalated its strikes on the Ukrainian capital’s infrastructure, including the bridges over the Dnipro River — the northern and southern bridges have been hit several times within a few days; according to Reuters, the campaign has “seriously disrupted life” for the capital’s roughly 3 million residents, ahead of the harsh winter.

In the same Sunday statement, according to the Russian Defence Ministry, Russian forces struck overnight a cargo ship east of Odesa — claiming it was carrying military equipment for Ukraine — as well as a Nova Poshta logistics centre in Chornomorsk and a data centre in Odesa. The ministry also claimed that Russian air defence had shot down 559 Ukrainian drones from Saturday evening to Sunday morning.