– Russia threatens Kyiv –
A Ukrainian military factory outside Kyiv is partially destroyed by overnight Russian strikes, AFP reports, as Moscow warns it will intensify attacks on the capital in response to Ukrainian strikes on Russian soil. The factory produced missiles allegedly used to hit Russia’s Moskva warship.
“The number and scale of missile strikes against targets in Kyiv will increase in response to any terrorist attacks or sabotage committed by the Kyiv nationalist regime on Russian territory,” the defence ministry in Moscow says.
Russian officials accuse Ukraine of sending two helicopters across the border to bomb a town in Russia’s southern Bryansk region, wounding eight people. Ukraine denies the allegations.
– Russia complains over US weaponry –
Russia formally complains to the United States over its military aid to Ukraine, warning of “unpredictable consequences” if shipments of advanced weaponry go forward, US media report.
The diplomatic note comes the same week that US President Joe Biden pledged a new $800-million military aid package for Ukraine, including helicopters, howitzers and armoured personnel carriers.
– Germany offers military aid –
The German government says it plans to release more than a billion euros ($1.1 billion) in military aid for Ukraine, following complaints by Kyiv it is not receiving heavy weapons from Berlin.
Berlin has decided to increase its international aid in the defence sector “to two billion euros” with “the largest part being planned in the form of military aid in favour of Ukraine”, a government spokeswoman tells AFP.
– Five million flee Ukraine –
More than five million people have now fled Ukraine since the Russian invasion on February 24, the United Nations says.
– Russian flagship sinks –
Russia’s missile cruiser Moskva sinks in the Black Sea after being damaged, Russia’s defence ministry says.
Kyiv claims to have hit the warship with Neptune missiles.
“The Moskva cruiser strike hit not only the ship itself: it hit the enemy’s imperial ambitions. We are all aware that we will not be forgiven for this,” Natalia Humeniuk, a spokeswoman for Ukraine’s southern military forces, says.
A senior Pentagon official says the warship was hit by two Ukrainian missiles before it sank, confirming Kyiv’s account and calling it a “big blow” for Moscow.
– Warship stamp becomes collector’s item –
A stamp depicting a Ukrainian soldier making an obscene hand gesture at the Moskva becomes a collector’s item for Ukrainians who see it as a sign of “victory”.
The missile cruiser gained notoriety in the early stages of the invasion when its crew called on a unit of Ukrainian border guards to surrender, only for them to defiantly refuse.
– Finland NATO bid ‘highly likely’ –
Finland’s European Affairs Minister Tytti Tuppurainen says it is “highly likely” that Finland will apply for NATO membership, just hours after Russia warns of unspecified “consequences” should it and Sweden join the military alliance.
Moscow’s military actions in Ukraine have sparked a dramatic U-turn in public and political opinion in non-aligned Finland and Sweden, which is also discussing joining the alliance.
– EU gas, oil embargo will take ‘months’ –
The EU is working on broadening sanctions on Russia to include oil and gas embargoes but such measures will take “several months”, European officials tell AFP.
Russian energy exports are Moscow’s main hard currency earner, and its oil and gas sales to the EU account for between a quarter of a billion to a billion euros per day, per different estimates.
