A “terrorist act”. Russia uses this to characterize any effects of the war it waged in Ukraine on its own territory. Vladimir Putin did not deviate from this rule on Monday, January 1, when he referred to the attacks that struck the Russian city of Belgorod two days earlier – the deadliest since the invasion of Ukraine began, in which 25 civilians were killed were killed, including four children and around a hundred injured.
The Russian president spoke from a military hospital in the Moscow region, surrounded by convalescent soldiers. The day before, in his wishes to the nation, he had not said a word for this city, which lies about twenty kilometers from the Ukrainian border opposite Kharkiv. Putin was content to discuss the conflict in general and praise the country's unity: “We have proven time and again that we can solve the most difficult tasks and that we will never give in because no power can divide us.” »
On Monday, the president pretended to ask the soldiers gathered before him about the appropriate response and asserted: “ [lui] also cooked”, before deciding: “We will strike with precision weapons the places of decision-making, the places where soldiers and mercenaries gather, other centers of this kind, especially military installations.” We will continue to do this, (…) “Ukraine is not our enemy,” Vladimir Putin said, but promised to “intensify” these attacks.
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According to him, the Ukrainian armed forces deliberately carried out bombings “in the center of the city, where people walk, before New Year's Eve” and, in addition, used several rocket launcher systems, “a weapon that strikes indiscriminately” – which Russian troops have used countless times since the beginning of the conflict against Ukrainian cities.
One of the most exposed cities in Russia
The images of the Belgorod bombing are reminiscent of those that regularly arrive from Ukraine: damaged buildings, burning cars, bodies on the sidewalks, panicked civilians… Many residents complained on Saturday, December 30, 2023 that the bomb shelters were closed and the sirens sounded late, even though the city is one of the most vulnerable to Ukrainian bombing in Russia. The toll is the highest recorded in one day on Russian territory.
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