Russia confirmed Friday that it had carried out a “high-precision” missile strike on a rocket plant in Kyiv as the UN chief visited the Ukrainian capital.
Thursday’s missile attack during UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ visit ended nearly two weeks of relative calm in Ukraine’s capital. At least one person has been killed and at least three injured, Kyiv’s mayor said.
In its daily briefing Friday, Russia’s Defense Ministry said its Air Forces targeted and destroyed the Artyom space-rocket factory.
“High-precision long-range air-based weapons destroyed the production facilities of the Artyom rocket and space industry enterprise in the city of Kyiv,” the Defense Ministry said.
“The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the special military operation in Ukraine,” the statement added.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the attack, which came shortly after his talks with Gutteres, an attempt to “humiliate the UN.”
Hours earlier, Guterres had decried the “absurdity” of war in the 21st century.
A UN humanitarian office spokesperson traveling with Guterres said the proximity of the attack to the UN’s delegation was “shocking.”
Russian forces had initially moved toward Kyiv in the first weeks of Moscow’s invasion that was launched on Feb. 24, but later withdrew in the face of stiff Ukrainian resistance and as the campaign’s focus shifted toward eastern Ukraine.