Putin: Russia has intensified strikes on Ukrainian industrial targets after Kyiv’s attacks on Russian civilian logistics

Moscow, August 22 — Russian President Vladimir Putin said Saturday that Russian forces have significantly stepped up strikes on Ukrainian industrial facilities. He described the campaign as a direct response to repeated Ukrainian attacks on civilian logistics and economic sites inside Russia.

Speaking after the United Russia party congress, Putin told state television that Kyiv had “let the genie out of the bottle” by targeting unprotected civilian infrastructure and logistics. He called the escalation another high-stakes gamble by the Ukrainian leadership and its Western backers aimed at inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia.

“The Kyiv regime set out to damage our economy. What did it do? It opened this Pandora’s box itself. Well then, expect a response targeting your most sensitive economic sectors,” Putin said.

He added that no fundamental shift on the battlefield had occurred in Ukraine’s favor, nor was one possible. Russian retaliatory strikes, he claimed, were more precise and destructive than Ukraine’s attacks on Russian rear areas.

On diplomacy, Putin repeated that Moscow remains open to talks on ending the conflict, but only on the basis of current realities on the ground. Proposals reaching Russia through intermediaries, he said, were often “frankly exotic” and “categorically unacceptable.”

Addressing concerns about global food supplies, Putin stated that Russian strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure would not create shortages on world markets. He said Russia would resolve any difficulties with its own grain shipments and could replace affected Ukrainian exports. Relevant agencies, he added, continue to carry out their tasks as part of the special military operation.

The remarks came as both sides have increased attacks on each other’s economic infrastructure this summer, including Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian oil refineries and logistics hubs and Russian strikes on Ukrainian ports and industrial sites.