Russian warplanes bombed Lviv and missiles hit Kiev and Kharkiv on Saturday, as Moscow makes good on its threat to launch more attacks on Ukrainian cities.
In besieged Mariupol, scene of the war’s heaviest fighting and worst humanitarian catastrophe, Russian troops put pressure on recent advances, hoping to make up for the failure to capture Kiev.
Moscow reported that its planes hit a repair factory of tanks in the capital, where an explosion could be heard in the Darnytskyi district of south-east Kiev. The mayor of Ukraine’s capital said at least one person had died and that doctors were fighting to save other lives.
Ukraine’s army said Russian warplanes taking off from Belarus also fired missiles in the Lviv region, near the Polish border, where four cruise missiles were shot down by Ukrainian air defenses.
In Mariupol, Reuters journalists in Russian-controlled parts of the city arrived at the Ilyich steelworks, which Moscow claimed to have captured on Friday. The site is home to one of two gigantic metal factories where defenders have held out in underground tunnels and bunkers.
The attacks followed Russia’s announcement yesterday that the country would step up a long-range offensive in retaliation for unspecified acts of “sabotage” and “terrorism”, hours after confirming the sinking of its flagship in the Black Sea, the Moskva. .
