Desperate Putin Vows To Unleash More Attacks On Civilians

Threat...vengeful Vladimir Putin yesterday

- Michael Knowles

VLADIMIR Putin yesterday vowed Russia’s response will be “very harsh” if Kyiv tries to wrest Crimea from his control.

The Kremlin dictator indicated there would be further retaliation on Ukraine after the attack on the Kerch Bridge – which links the annexed peninsula to Russia and is a key supply route for his troops.

His retribution yesterday saw widespread missile strikes hitting civilian targets in cities including the capital Kyiv, plus Lviv, Dnipro and Kharkiv, killing at least 11 people.

The indiscriminate bombing was slammed as a war crime by international critics.

Putin said Russia had deployed “high-precision, long-range weapons from the air, sea and land” to deliver “massive attacks on targets of Ukraine’s energy, military command and communications facilities”.

He blamed Ukrainian special forces for the bridge explosion, describing it as an “act of terrorism”. It was the latest in a series of highly embarrassing defeats for the despot – after his forces were routed in the east of the country and retreated in the south.

Speaking at a meeting of Russia’s Security Council yesterday, Putin added: “If attempts to carry out terrorist attacks on our territory continue, Russia’s response will be severe and at the level of the threats facing it. Nobody should be in any doubt, Russia’s response will be harsh.”

Hardliners in Moscow called for Putin to escalate the war after the bombing of the Kerch Bridge at the weekend.

It is set to also result in a crackdown in Russia, with a ban on rallies, tightening censorship, travel curbs and calling up even more citizens to fight.