Russia Pledges More Strikes on Kyiv after Missile Attack, Says Took Mariupol Plant

A man stands next a turret of a destroyed tank near the village of Zalissya, northeast of Kyiv, on April 14, 2022, amid Russia's military invasion launched on Ukraine. (AFP)
A man stands next a turret of a destroyed tank near the village of Zalissya, northeast of Kyiv, on April 14, 2022, amid Russia's military invasion launched on Ukraine. (AFP)
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Russia Pledges More Strikes on Kyiv after Missile Attack, Says Took Mariupol Plant

A man stands next a turret of a destroyed tank near the village of Zalissya, northeast of Kyiv, on April 14, 2022, amid Russia's military invasion launched on Ukraine. (AFP)
A man stands next a turret of a destroyed tank near the village of Zalissya, northeast of Kyiv, on April 14, 2022, amid Russia's military invasion launched on Ukraine. (AFP)

Russia's defense ministry said on Friday it had struck a military target on the edge of Kyiv overnight with cruise missiles and promised more strikes against the Ukrainian capital in response to Ukrainian attacks on Russian targets.

The ministry said its forces had also taken full control of the Ilyich Steel Plant in the besieged port city of Mariupol, which has been encircled by Russian troops for weeks.

Powerful explosions were heard in Kyiv on Friday which appeared to be among the most significant there since Russian troops pulled back from the area earlier this month in preparation for battles in the south and east.

The explosions were reported to have been heard after the Russian defense ministry announced that the Moskva, the flagship of Russia's Black Sea Fleet, had sunk while being towed after being badly damaged.

Ukraine claimed the Moskva's damage was the result of one of its missile strikes. Russia's defense ministry spoke only of a fire breaking out and of exploding ammunition.

The defense ministry said in its statement that its overnight missile strikes on Kyiv had struck the 'Vizar' factory on the edge of the Ukrainian capital which it said made and repaired missiles, including anti-ship missiles.

It pledged more strikes on Kyiv.

"The number and scale of missile strikes on targets in Kyiv will increase in response to any terrorist attacks or acts of sabotage on Russian territory committed by the Kyiv nationalist regime," the ministry said in a statement.

It said its forces had shot down a Ukrainian Mi-8 helicopter which it said had attacked the village of Klimovo in Bryansk region on April 14 and had also shot down a Ukrainian Sukhoi-27 jet. A group of up to 30 Polish mercenaries had also been destroyed, it said.

Russia launched what it calls its "special military operation" on Feb. 24. Ukraine has put up fierce resistance and the West has imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia.



Pro-Palestinian Activists Due to Appear Court after Damaging Planes at RAF Base

Demonstrators look on during a protest after British lawmakers voted to ban pro-Palestinian campaign group Palestine Action as a terrorist organization, outside Downing Street in London, Britain, July 2, 2025. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett
Demonstrators look on during a protest after British lawmakers voted to ban pro-Palestinian campaign group Palestine Action as a terrorist organization, outside Downing Street in London, Britain, July 2, 2025. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett
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Pro-Palestinian Activists Due to Appear Court after Damaging Planes at RAF Base

Demonstrators look on during a protest after British lawmakers voted to ban pro-Palestinian campaign group Palestine Action as a terrorist organization, outside Downing Street in London, Britain, July 2, 2025. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett
Demonstrators look on during a protest after British lawmakers voted to ban pro-Palestinian campaign group Palestine Action as a terrorist organization, outside Downing Street in London, Britain, July 2, 2025. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett

Four people are set to appear in a London courtroom on Thursday over charges connected with an incident in which pro-Palestinian protesters damaged two Royal Air Force planes with red paint and crowbars.

The charges come after the group Palestine Action said two of its members entered RAF Brize Norton on June 20 and used electric scooters to approach two Voyager jets used for air-to-air refueling. The protesters used repurposed fire extinguishers to spray paint into the planes’ jet engines and caused further damage with crowbars, according to the group, which released video footage of the incident, The Associated Press said.

The four, all between the ages of 22 and 35, are charged with conspiracy to commit criminal damage and conspiracy to enter a prohibited place for purposes prejudicial to the interests of the UK, counter-terror police said in a statement. The Crown Prosecution Service will argue that that the offenses have a “terrorist connection,” police said.

Palestine Action has claimed responsibility for a series of incidents targeting Israeli defense contractors in the UK and other sites linked to the war in Gaza. Following the incident at RAF Brize Norton, the government introduced legislation to ban Palestine Action as a terrorist organization. The measure means it will be a criminal offense to belong to or support the group, with a maximum of 14 years in prison.

Palestine Action rejects that assertion, saying its protests are designed to end international support for Israel’s war in Gaza.

Planes from Brize Norton, 70 miles (112 kilometers) northwest of London, regularly fly to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, Britain’s main air base for operations in the Middle East.