Russian Foreign Ministry threatens "systematic strikes" on defence industry companies in Kyiv
The Russian Foreign Ministry has claimed that Russian forces are beginning "systematic continuous strikes" against Ukrainian defence industry companies and "decision-making centres" in Kyiv.
Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia
Details: The ministry claimed the decision was prompted by an attack on a college building and an accommodation in Starobilsk, a part of Luhansk Oblast currently occupied by Russia.
According to the statement, the strikes would target locations involved in the "design, production, programming and preparation for the use of drones", as well as "decision-making centres" and command posts.
Quote from the Russian Foreign Ministry: "All of this has exhausted our patience. Under the current conditions, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation are beginning to carry out systematic sequential strikes against companies of Ukraine's defence industry in Kyiv, including specific sites involved in the design, production, programming and preparation for the use of drones employed by the Kyiv regime with the assistance of NATO specialists responsible for supplying components, providing intelligence data and targeting information.
Strikes will also be carried out against decision-making centres and command posts."
Details: The ministry also accused Ukraine and its Western partners of violating international humanitarian law, referencing the 1949 Geneva Conventions, their additional protocols and the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child.
In addition, Russia called on foreigners, including diplomatic staff and employees of international organisations, to "leave Kyiv as soon as possible". Residents of the capital were advised by the Russian side to "avoid military and administrative infrastructure facilities".
Previously: On 22 May, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine rejected Russian media claims alleging Ukrainian strikes on civilian targets in occupied territories.
Background:
- On the night of 23-24 May, Russian forces carried out a large-scale combined strike on Ukraine using 90 missiles and 600 drones of various types, including an Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile.
- Across Ukraine, 4 people were killed and around 100 injured, with approximately 30 residential buildings damaged or destroyed in Kyiv alone.
- As of 25 May, two people have been reportedly killed and 91 injured, including 3 children, in the large-scale Russian attack.
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