Pivoting to Eastern Ukraine, Russia still doesn’t let go of Kiev

After losing a warship in the Black Sea and accusing Ukraine Russia’s military command has warned of new missile attacks on the Ukrainian capital. Officials in Moscow have also said they are targeting military sites.

Kiev was one of many targets on April 16. Ukraine’s presidential office announced multiple rocket attacks and shelling in the past 24 hours in eight regions across the country.

In towns and villages on the outskirts of Kiev, authorities reported finding the bodies of more than 900 civilians, most of them shot dead, since Russian troops withdrew two weeks ago.

Galyna Bondar stands by her son’s grave at the cemetery in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kiev, Ukraine on April 16. Photo: AP

Smoke rose again from the capital Kiev on the morning of April 16, when Mayor Vitali Klitschko announced the attack that had killed many people, advising those who had fled the city earlier not to return. “We do not rule out the possibility that Kiev will be attacked again,” Mayor Klitschko said.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said an armored vehicle factory had been targeted, but did not specify its location. AP reported that there is a tank repair facility in the Darnytskyi district of Kiev.

The extent of the damage from the attack was not immediately known, but initial information said the attack created a loud explosion and a huge plume of smoke. Kiev authorities say at least one person was killed in the incident.

Konashenkov said the plant was among Ukrainian military sites hit by “air-launched high-precision long-range weapons”.

Ukrainian soldiers walk among the ruins of buildings after a Russian attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, April 16. Photo: AP

It was the second attack in Kiev since the Russian military announced it would step up missile attacks on the capital this week. Russian rockets hit Kiev as foreign embassies plan to reopen, life returning to its pre-fight spin.

Meanwhile, the governor of the Lviv region in western Ukraine said air strikes on the area were carried out by Russian Su-35s that took off from neighboring Belarus.

In preparation for the offensive to the east, the Russian military has increased its shelling of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, in recent days.

Kharkiv mayor Ihor Terekhov said that the death toll on April 16 was 3 people and 34 people were injured. Before that, the attack on April 15 left more than 50 people injured. The firm AP reported that a mother cried over the body of her 15-year-old son after a rocket hit a residential area in the city of Kharkiv.