In September, russian president vladimir putin ordered the russian military leadership to lift restrictions on airstrikes against Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said this in an interview with the Financial Times, UNIAN reports.
"He said that there are no rules anymore", - Zelensky said, describing information obtained by Ukrainian intelligence after intercepting communications between kremlin representatives.
He also said that the purpose of such attacks is not only to destroy infrastructure but also to exert psychological pressure on the civilian population.
"This is not just the destruction of infrastructure. This is pressure on people", - the president said.
Zelensky linked the intensification of russian strikes to the situation in Donbas. According to him, after russia failed to capture Ukrainian territories, moscow switched to a tactic of massive attacks aimed at intimidating the civilian population, forcing people to leave cities, and weakening Ukraine's ability to continue the war.
Zelensky separately mentioned the strike on a school in Kyiv. According to the Financial Times, the newspaper's journalists examined drone debris found at the site of the attack and discovered markings from russian manufacturers and inscriptions in russian. Some of the parts were manufactured in russia on July 28, while other components were of Western origin.