SEVERODONETSK, Ukraine — Thunderous blasts echoed in the capital, Kyiv, and in Ukraine’s eastern battle zone on Friday, a day after Russia’s most important warship in the Black Sea sank while being towed to port, marking a humiliating wartime setback for Moscow.
Russia’s defense ministry threatened stepped-up missile attacks after its flagship missile cruiser Moskva went down Thursday following what Ukraine said was a missile strike and what Moscow claimed was an accidental fire aboard.
The Russian defense ministry said Friday that in Kyiv, a plant that made and repaired Ukrainian missiles was targeted. The capital, which was heavily bombarded at the outset of the war, had enjoyed a period of relative calm after Russian forces broke off an offensive in Ukraine’s north at the beginning of this month.
