DENYS KARLOVSKYI - WEDNESDAY, 13 APRIL 2022, 20:31

Russia's military leadership is threatening missile strikes on Kyiv if Ukrainians do not stop their alleged sabotage of Russia.

Source: briefing by Igor Konashenkov, the spokesman of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation

Konashenkov's quote: "We see attempts of sabotage and carrying out strikes at facilities in Russia by Ukrainian troops.

If such cases continue, the Russian armed forces will strike at decision-making centres, including in Kyiv, something the Russian army has previously refrained from doing". 

Background: 

• The Russian army has been firing missiles at Kyiv since the first days of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. On 25 February, the remains of Russian missiles shot down by the Ukrainian air defence system fell on an apartment building in the capital's area of Pozniaky. On 26 February, a Russian missile hit an apartment building on Valerii Lobanovskyi Avenue.
• On 2 March, Ukrainian air defenсe systems shot down Russian missiles flying over the Southern Railway Station in the direction of the Ministry of Defenсe building. On 14 March, the remains of a Russian rocket knocked down a house and a trolleybus in Kurenivka in Kyiv. 
• On 18 March, a Russian missile hit a residential area in Vynohradar, killing one person and injuring 19 others, including four children. On 21 March, Russian missiles completely destroyed the modern "Retroville mall" in Vynohradar, killing at least four people.

• Vitali Klitschko, the Mayor of Kyiv, said on 13 April that it was too early for the capital's residents who evacuated from the city to return. The military explained to local authorities that the Russians could still launch missile strikes on Kyiv, and that there were many mines and unexploded ordnance on the outskirts of the capital.