Russia’s army threatened on Wednesday to strike “decision-making centers” in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv if the Ukrainian forces kept launching attacks on Russian territory, state news agency TASS reported.
“We see attempts of sabotage and strikes by Ukrainian troops on objects on the territory of the Russian Federation. If such cases continue, then the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation will strike at decision-making centers, including in Kyiv, from which the Russian army has so far refrained,” Defense ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov said.
He added that Russian forces have gained complete control of the port of Mariupol and claimed that “hostages” were freed from vessels.
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“In the city of Mariupol, the commercial seaport has been completely liberated from militants of the Nazi formation Azov. All the hostages held by the Nazis on ships in the port, including foreign ones, have been released,” Konashenkov said.
The Azov battalion is a far-right militia which is now part of Ukraine's National Guard.
Earlier, the Russian defense ministry said that over 1,000 Ukrainian marines have surrendered in the port of Mariupol.
The port city of Mariupol has been under siege by the Russians for weeks, surrounded and under constant bombardment.
Should the Russians take control of it, Mariupol would be the first major city to fall since Moscow’s army invaded Ukraine on February 24.
Read more:
Explainer-Mariupol: Ruins of port could become Russia’s first big prize in Ukraine
Over 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers surrender in Mariupol: Russian defense ministry
Mariupol mayor says Russia's siege has killed more than 10,000 civilians
