By Christina Papakosta

Two are dead after the Russian attack in Zaporizhia. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted video on Social Media showing thick smoke choking the atmosphere while a church was partially damaged. Expressing his condolences to the families of the victims, he stressed that Russia will be held accountable for the strike in Zaporizhia, which is 44 kilometers away from the front line.

A few hours earlier, Russia announced that it had shot down two drones in the Russian capital, accusing Kiev of being behind the attack. Later on Wednesday morning, an optical equipment factory in the Sergei Posad district was engulfed in flames after an explosion in its warehouse containing pyrotechnic equipment. Images broadcast by Russian media showed a huge plume of smoke rising from the crash site, and citing emergency services, they initially stressed that it was not yet another strike by Ukrainian forces inside the Russian capital with drones. From the explosion, one person lost his life and at least 50 were injured, while 38 apartments were destroyed and residents were ordered to evacuate.

The plant in question produces optical equipment and the Russian security forces, while research platform Agentstvo reports that it produced equipment for military aircraft and participated in the development of a new fighter-bomber. At the same time, some Russian media reported that a Ukrainian drone was responsible for the explosion. The Russian services deny it and in Ukraine, Anton Gerashenko, the adviser to President Zelensky, gives his own version, stressing that “the Russian media hastened to say that it was fireworks that exploded, but if we see the videos of the explosions, we will notice that they are not they look like pyrotechnic equipment. The factory was used to manufacture military products for the “special military operation”.

It follows last weekend’s strikes by Ukrainian unmanned surface vessels rigged with explosives against a Russian warship and a tanker.

At the same time, Moscow has been targeted several times in recent times with Kiev, according to Zelensky himself, bringing the war to Russia. The largest attack on the Russian capital was recorded last May when drones were shot down over the Kremlin, in the heart of the Russian capital, one of the most protected locations in the entire world.

At the same time, the Crimean bridge that connects mainland Ukraine with the Chersonissos peninsula, which was annexed by the Russians in 2014, is also a target. The latest hit was recorded last Sunday on the Tsonhar road bridge and also on a smaller one in the Tonki Strait that connects Henichesk with the Arabat Spit.

The war in Ukraine is now in its 18th month and analysts say it is escalating as drone attacks proliferate inside Russian territory, allowing Kiev to play with the psyche of Russians by bringing the war to their doorsteps and into their lives. while, at the same time, Moscow is preparing for the next day by escalating its attacks and withdrawing from the agreement on the Black Sea Initiative.