Photograph provided by Russian state agency Sputnik showing Vladimir Putin speaking from Moscow on December 22, 2024. (POOL/Alexander KAZAKOV)
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday promised even more “destruction” to Ukraine after a drone attack the day before, which Moscow attributes to kyiv, against buildings in Kazan, a city in central Russia far from the front.
“Anyone who attempts to destroy anything in our country, no matter how small, will face much greater destruction in their own country and will regret what they tried to do to our country,” he said. he declared during an official ceremony while commenting on Saturday's strike about 1,000 kilometers from the Ukrainian border.
This targeted residential buildings in Kazan, without causing any casualties, according to local authorities.
Impressive images, which circulated on Russian social networks, showed drones hitting tall glass buildings in a ball of fire.
Ukraine has not commented on this operation, nor on the Russian accusations.
This country regularly carries out strikes in Russia, often against industrial targets, particularly oil targets, in response to Russian air attacks and the assault launched by the Kremlin against its territory almost three years ago.
Map of areas controlled by Ukrainian and Russian forces in Ukraine as of December 19, 2024 at 6:30 p.m. GMT (AFP / Valentin RAKOVSKY)
It is rarer for Ukraine to be accused of attacking apartment buildings so far from its borders.
In recent weeks, Vladimir Putin has repeatedly threatened to strike the center of kyiv with the new and powerful “Orechnik” missile, used for the first time in November.
Almost continuous Russian aerial bombardments have brought Ukraine's energy system to its knees, causing regular power outages in the middle of winter.
– Acceleration on the front –
On the front, the Russian army is advancing rapidly, particularly in the eastern region of Donetsk, the hot spot of fighting.
It has thus conquered two new villages, those of Lozova, in the Kharkiv region (north-east), and Sontsivka, in the Donetsk region, the Russian Defense Ministry announced on Sunday.
Sontsivka is close to the industrial city of Kurakhové, which the Russian army has almost surrounded and which constitutes one of the key sectors of the fighting.
Russia has accelerated its advance into eastern Ukraine in recent months, seeking to gain as much territory as possible before U.S. President-elect Donald Trump takes power in January.
He promised to quickly end this conflict, without ever really explaining how he intends to proceed.
The vagueness surrounding this plan is enough to give Ukraine a cold sweat, which, given its current military difficulties, fears being forced into an unfavorable agreement.
– Accusations –
Ukrainian rescuers try to put out a fire at the scene of a Russian missile attack, in kyiv, December 20, 2024 (AFP / Roman PILIPEY)
Russian troops say they have captured more than 190 Ukrainian towns this year. Opposite, kyiv is trying to contain them, despite the shortage of manpower and ammunition.
Ukrainian human rights commissioner Dmytro Loubinets on Sunday accused Russian soldiers of shooting and killing five surrendered Ukrainian soldiers.
“Russian war criminals who kill Ukrainian prisoners of war must be brought before an international court and face the harshest punishments under the law,” he wrote on Telegram.
He added that he would inform the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Dmytro Loubinets cited as evidence a video released by a Ukrainian brigade and presented as showing Russian soldiers shooting and killing captured Ukrainian soldiers. Its authenticity, like the location where it was filmed, could not be verified by AFP.
Ukraine and Russia have accused each other of killing prisoners of war since the start of the war.
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights claims to have “documented numerous violations of international humanitarian law against prisoners of war, including cases of summary executions of Russian and Ukrainian prisoners of war” .
