‘Massive retaliatory strike’: Russia’s Defence Ministry confirms attack on Ukraine

Russia’s Ministry of Defence has confirmed to have carried out the massive missile attack on Ukraine in the morning and has referred to it as a “massive retaliatory strike”, as per the ministry’s statement. 

“In response to the terrorist acts in the Bryansk region organised by the Kiev regime on 2 March this year, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation carried out a massive retaliatory strike,” the ministry’s statement reads.

The ministry has also confirmed to have used hypersonic Kinzhal missiles in today’s attack.

“Key elements of Ukraine’s military infrastructure, defence and industrial complex enterprises, as well as energy facilities that support them” were hit, according to the Russian ministry.

At least nine people were killed and at least two were injured in the morning missile strike carried by Russian forces on Ukrainian cities. 

Head of the Kyiv city administration Serhiy Popko said earlier that, according to initial reports, a Russian missile had hit an energy infrastructure facility in the capital.

Ukraine’s energy company DTEK reported having to carry out emergency power outages in Kyiv — 40% of the capital’s residents were left without electricity. Some locals also got cut off from heating and water supply.

On 2 March, the Bryansk region governor Alexander Bogomaz said that a “Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group” had entered the territory of the region. He reported that two local residents had been killed as a result. 

The responsibility for the events was claimed by neo-Nazi organisation Russian Volunteer Corps. One of the fighters of the corps told media outlet IStories that they had, in fact, entered the territory of the Bryansk region. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin referred to the events as a “terrorist attack”. 

Kyiv called the “Ukrainian saboteurs” story a provocation. “Russia wants to scare its people to justify the attack on another country & the growing poverty after the year of war. The partisan movement in Russia is getting stronger & more aggressive. Fear your partisans…”, Adviser to the Head of the Office of President of Ukraine Mykhailo Podolyak tweeted on 2 March. 

On 3 March, neo-Nazi Denis Kapustin, founder of the Russian Volunteer Corps, said in an interview with Financial Times that the attack on the Bryansk region had been agreed upon with Ukrainian authorities.