The Russian military on Wednesday threatened to strike “decision-making centers” in Kyiv if Ukrainian forces continue attacks across the border in Russia.
The warning comes as Russia has begun to stage its forces just across the Ukrainian border for the next phase of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “special military operation” in Ukraine. The capital city of Kyiv has hosted several foreign leaders in recent weeks, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has refused to leave Kyiv since the start of Russia’s invasion.
“We are seeing Ukrainian troops’ attempts to carry out sabotage and strike Russian territory,” Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman, said in a statement. “If such cases continue, the Russian armed forces will strike decision-making centers, including in Kyiv.”
Russian officials have blamed Ukraine for several attacks on Russian soil since the start of the invasion on Feb. 24. Ukrainian authorities have not claimed responsibility for any of the alleged attacks, but some officials have said Ukrainian forces have the right to strike military targets inside Russian territory.
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Russia’s Belgorod region, just 25 miles from the Ukrainian border, has been the site of several attacks, some of which have been attributed to Ukraine by Russian officials.
On April 1, Russian authorities alleged that Ukrainian forces used two helicopters to attack a fuel depot in Belgorod, causing a massive fire.
A Russian railway bridge in Belgorod was also reportedly damaged on Tuesday, possibly the result of an explosion. No explanation was given by Russian officials as to the cause of the blast.
Last month, Russian media reported that an ammunition depot at a military base in Belgorod had exploded. The cause of that explosion is unclear.
Most recently, Russian authorities in the Kursk region on Wednesday claimed a border checkpoint in a western Russian village had come under fire by Ukrainian forces.
Senior Ukrainian official Oleksandr Danilyuk told the Washington Examiner in March that “of course we will try to destroy [Russia’s] capabilities.”
“It’s enormous, but anyhow, especially those arsenals and those storages which are on our borders — they are our targets for sure,” Danilyuk said.
Satellite images released by Maxar Technologies on Tuesday showed a Russian convoy with more than 200 vehicles, including tanks, armored personnel carriers, towed artillery, and support equipment, moving into Ukraine from Belgorod.
The satellite images also show that the Russian towns of Soloti and Biriuch appear to be the staging grounds for the new troop deployments. Soloti is approximately 25 miles from the Ukrainian border, and Biriuch is only about 5 miles from the border.
The threat of a new wave of Russian assaults on Kyiv came on the same day the presidents of Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia traveled by train to meet with Zelensky. The countries have been supplying Ukraine with weapons they call “defensive.”
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On Saturday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson made a surprise trip to Kyiv to meet with Zelensky, too.
The prime ministers of the Czech Republic, Poland, and Slovenia also met with the Ukrainian president in Kyiv last month.
Zelensky has refused to leave the Ukrainian capital even as Russian and Chechen hit squads roamed the capital city early in the invasion, attempting to assassinate him.
