Putin threatens new targets if Ukraine gets advanced rockets; missiles hit Kyiv

Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a television interview broadcast Sunday that if Ukraine gets advanced rocket systems from Western countries, Moscow will hit targets “we have not yet struck.” Ukraine has lobbied hard for such weapons, and President Joe Biden last week confirmed that the United States would provide systems that can pinpoint an enemy target nearly 50 miles away.

Explosions rocked Kyiv as two districts were hit by missile strikes Sunday morning, leaving one person hospitalized, the capital’s mayor said. Kyiv has largely been spared from strikes in recent weeks as Russia focuses its military might on Ukraine’s east in an effort to capture the Donbas region.

An intense street-by-street fight continues for territory in the key eastern city of Severodonetsk and surrounding areas, where Kyiv’s forces said they have regained ground. While Moscow says Ukraine is suffering “critical losses” and retreating, the Ukrainian counterattacks are “likely blunting the operational momentum Russian forces previously gained,” according to the latest assessment from Britain’s Defense Ministry. Severodonetsk is one of the last cities standing in the way of Russian control of the entire Luhansk region.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba scolded Emmanuel Macron on Saturday for suggesting that the West should not “humiliate” Russia. The French president told reporters that allowing Russia to avoid embarrassment could create “an exit ramp through diplomatic channels” once fighting stops.

Aiden Aslin, a Briton captured while fighting alongside Ukrainian forces in Mariupol, will soon appear in court and could face the death penalty, according to pro-Russian prosecutors in Donetsk.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said missile strikes on a site in Kyiv on Sunday morning destroyed tanks sent to Ukraine by supporting countries – a claim denied by the head of Ukraine’s rail network.

Moscow contended that high-precision, long-range air-based missiles destroyed T-72 tanks and other armored vehicles supplied by Eastern European countries. The tanks and other equipment were stored at a repair facility on the outskirts of Kyiv, the ministry said.

Oleksandr Kamyshin, CEO of the state-owned Ukrainian Railways, said four missiles hit a rail car repair yard in the Darnytsia district, but he denied that any tanks were there.

“Officially, I declare that there is no military equipment in the repair works,” he said, inviting reporters to visit the facility and verify for themselves. “We will confirm that Russia once again lied and that their real goal is the economy of Ukraine and the civilian population.”

Earlier Sunday, Kyiv’s mayor said two districts were hit, leaving one person hospitalized. The missiles were fired from Russian Tu-95 bombers over the Caspian Sea, according to preliminary information provided by Ukraine’s air force command.

It was the first time in more than a month that Russian missiles had targeted Kyiv.

Ukraine’s nuclear power operator Energoatom said a Russian missile passed “critically low” over a nuclear plant early Sunday, near Yuzhnoukrainsk in Mykolaiv province, about 220 miles south of the capital.

Pope Francis said he hopes to visit Ukraine but is waiting for the “right time to do it.”

During an event for children Saturday in a Vatican courtyard, a Ukrainian child refugee named Sachar asked the pontiff whether he could come to Ukraine “to save all the children who are suffering there now,” according to the Vatican.

Francis responded to Sachar that “I think a lot about children in Ukraine.” The pope said that he “would like to go to Ukraine. But, I have to wait for the right time to do it, because it is not easy to make a decision that could do more harm to the whole world than good. I have to look for the right time to do it.”

Francis added that he will meet this week with Ukrainian officials to discuss a potential visit.

The pope issued another impassioned plea for peace, this time appealing to national leaders after Sunday’s Regina Caeli prayer on Pentecost to not “lead humanity into ruin.”

After delivering his message for Pentecost – a celebration that he noted marks 50 days after Easter, in which apostles who “speak different languages encounter and understand one another” – Francis lamented “the nightmare of war” after 100 days of conflict in Ukraine.

“And while the fury of destruction and death rampages and the conflicts rage on, fueling an escalation that is increasingly dangerous for all, I renew my appeal to the leaders of nations: Do not lead humanity into ruin, please!” Francis said. He urged leaders to negotiate and hold “real talks for a cease-fire.” He continued: “Have respect for human life and stop the macabre destruction of cities and villages in the east of Ukraine. Let us continue, please, to pray and to strive tirelessly for peace.”

He has called for an end to the fighting but has received criticism over his refusal to condemn Putin by name for launching the invasion.

Western sanctions will have no effect on Russia’s oil exports, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said, predicting a jump in profits.

“Considering the price level that has been established as a result of the West’s policies, we have suffered no budgetary losses,” Russia’s Foreign Ministry quoted him as saying to a Bosnian Serb television station on Saturday.

“On the contrary, this year we will significantly increase the profits from the export of our energy resources,” he added. “Oil, generally speaking, is not subject to politics. There is a demand for it. … We have alternative sales markets, where we are already increasing sales.”

After February’s invasion of Ukraine, Western powers slapped Russia with multiple rounds of sanctions targeting the Kremlin’s central bank reserves, financial elites tied to Putin and key sectors of the country’s economy.

European Union leaders have struggled to achieve an embargo on Russian oil but last week agreed in principle to cut 90% of imports by the end of this year.

European Council President Charles Michel said at the time that the move would cut “a huge source of financing” for Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said the E.U.’s action was likely to provoke further price increases, destabilize energy markets and disrupt supply chains.