Putin vows that he will go to Kyiv as his Ukraine War escalates with the engulfing of Moscow

As smoke continued to rise from the ruins of a “military facility” outside Kyiv that was wiped out in a Russian air strike early Friday, Russia vowed to step up attacks across the region. after Ukraine claimed responsibility for sinking a key warship that was once a symbol of Russian Power and is now another symbol of its inability to fight.

The Moskva, with a crew of 510 and weighing 12,490 tons, is the largest Russian warship shot down in service since the Second World War. The Russian military said: “While being towed … towards the intended port, the ship lost balance due to damage to the hull due to a fire that broke out after the shell exploded.” sunk.” Ukraine says the fire was the result of a precision strike.

Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov mocked Russia, saying the sunken ship would eventually become a great diving spot after they pushed Russia out of their country. “We now have one more dive spot in the Black Sea,” he tweeted Friday. “Definitely going to visit the wreck after our victory in the war.”

Either way, the loss of the Moskva – first noticed in this war when Ukrainian soldiers on Snake Island demanded the death of its crew – constituted a heavy loss. President Joe Biden’s National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan on Thursday said the loss was a “severe blow to Russia” that could hamper Russia’s military capabilities as it was used as a launch point for missiles. important fire.

The loss could anger Putin, military analysts say, which could be the driving force behind a new wave of unrelenting violence against Ukraine and its people. CIA Director William J. Burns, a former US ambassador to Russia familiar with Putin’s tactics, warned that an increasingly desperate Putin could soon panic and make good on his threat to use nuclear weapons. “Given the potential desperation of President Putin and the Russian leadership, given the setbacks they have faced so far, militarily, none of us can downplay the threat posed by the use of tactical nuclear weapons or low-yield nuclear weapons, Burns said Thursday at an event at the Georgia Institute of Technology, according to The New York Times. “I have watched over the years as Putin has experienced a combustible combination of complaining and ambition and insecurity.”

The new threats against Kyiv come after a series of global leaders visited the city for talks and joint photos with Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky in recent weeks. Both President Biden and Pope Francis have expressed a desire to visit the city, which some experts say Mr Putin sees as an embarrassment after his troops pulled back negligently for weeks. recently.

As his venomous threats to the capital continue to mount, his actions in the east intensify on Friday. The head of the separatist Donetsk region on Friday said “most of the settlements of the Donetsk region along the front lines are under attack” as Russia tightens its grip on the heavily contested area. Pavlo Kyrylenko, head of the region’s military administration, said evacuations continued, which could put civilians at risk. According to CNN, he said: “Despite the continuous shelling, civilians are being evacuated from the community on a daily basis. “As of today, at least 350 people have been transferred from Maryinka.”