Russia hits Kyiv missile factory after flagship sunk
KYIV, April 16, ( AFP) - Russia pounded a Ukrainian rocket factory following the sinking of its Black Sea flagship, as President Volodymyr Zelensky said his allies could shorten the war by delivering the weapons he had requested.
The Vizar factory, near Kyiv's international airport, was seriously damaged in the overnight strikes, an AFP journalist saw on Friday.
Russia said it had used sea-based long-range missiles to hit the plant, which Ukraine's state weapons manufacturer says produced Neptune cruise missiles -- the projectiles both Kyiv and Washington say were used to sink the Moskva warship.
“There were five hits. My employee was in the office and got thrown off his feet by the blast,” Andrei Sizov, the 47- year- old owner of a nearby wood workshop, told AFP. “They are making us pay for destroying the Moskva,” he said.
A Pentagon official briefing reporters said the ship had been hit with two Neptunes -- contradicting Russia's claim that the ship lost balance in rough seas as it was towed to port after ammunition exploded. The Moskva had been leading Russia's naval effort in the seven-week conflict, and the fate of its crew of more than 500 was uncertain.
The Pentagon official said survivors were observed being recovered by other Russian vessels, but Ukrainian authorities said bad weather had made rescue operations impossible.
The Russian fleet in the Black Sea has been blockading the besieged port city of Mariupol, where Russian officials say they are in full control although Ukrainian fighters are still holed up in the city's fortress-like steelworks.
In his nightly address, Zelensky made another plea for allies to send more firepower to boost the defence efforts. “You can make the war much shorter,” he said. “The more and the sooner we get all the weapons we have requested, the stronger our position will be and the sooner peace will come.” The head of Ukraine's army had made a similar point in a phone call to the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, the military said on Saturday.
The United States has already pledged a new $800-million military aid package for Ukraine this week, including helicopters, howitzers and armoured personnel carriers, and on Friday the German government said it plans to release more than a billion euros ($1.1 billion) in aid as well.
US media reported that Russia had sent a formal complaint to Washington about its support of Kyiv this week. In the diplomatic note, Moscow warned the United States and NATO against sending the “most sensitive” weapons, saying such shipments were “adding fuel” to the situation and could come with “unpredictable consequences”, the Washington Post reported.
Zelensky warned Friday that Russia might use nuclear weapons out of desperation as its invasion falters, echoing recent comments by CIA director William Burns.
The war in Ukraine has had a profound effect on European countries' security considerations, with Finland and Sweden considering joining NATO. Moscow, which invaded Ukraine partly because of deepening ties between Kyiv and NATO, on Friday warned of consequences should they join the US-led defence alliance.