Russian President Wladimir Putin warned of “heavier” retaliation against Ukraine after multiple blasts hit the center of the war-torn nation in response to the Crimean bridge explosion.
What happened: Putin said in television commentaries to his Security Council: “There is no doubt that Russia’s response will be harsh if attempts at terrorist attacks continue.” reported Agence France-Presse.
The comments came after Russia carried out its largest wave of strikes in Ukraine in months, killed at least 11 people across the country. Ukrainian military said Putin fired more than 80 rockets at cities across Ukraine and Moscow also used Iranian drones launched with the help of Belarus.
Meanwhile, President Putin’s predecessor, Dmitry Medvedevalso warned via his social media that the strikes – which damaged civilian infrastructure in Ukraine and caused mass power outages – were only “the first episode”.
After Russia attacked Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyyin a video said Putin’s army is trying to wipe his country “off the face of the earth.”
He added that the Russian army had timed its attacks on Kyiv to inflict maximum casualties on the people and also targeted the country’s civilian infrastructure. “The second goal is people. Such time and targets were specially chosen to inflict as much damage as possible,” said Zelenskyy.
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