Russia will “intensify” its military strikes in Ukraine after the bombing of Belgorod, assures Putin
The Russian army will “intensify” its operations against military targets in Ukraine in retaliation for the unprecedented bombing of Belgorod this weekend, Vladimir Putin promised on Monday.
“We are going to intensify the strikes, no crime against civilians will go unpunished, that is a certainty”declared the Head of State, during a visit to a military hospital, for which the Ministry of Defense reports on Telegram. “We are striking with precision weapons the places of decision-making, the places where soldiers and mercenaries gather, other centers of this type, military installations above all”he continued.
Qualifying as“terrorist act” the bombing of Belgorod, which left twenty-five dead and around a hundred injured, according to the latest report communicated Monday by the local authorities, the Russian president accused the Ukrainian forces of having struck in “right in the center of the city, where people walk, before New Year’s Eve”. The Russian president, however, considered that “Ukraine is not an enemy” in itself and accused Western powers of manipulating kyiv to “solve their own problems” with Russia. “We also want to end the conflict, and as quickly as possible, but only on our terms”continued Mr. Putin. “We have no desire to fight endlessly, but we are not going to abandon our positions either”he assured, adding that Russian forces now had “strategic initiative” on the front, where they have been gaining ground since the failure of the Ukrainian summer counter-offensive.