After the bombing of Belgorod, Vladimir Putin vowed to “intensify” attacks on Ukraine.

And “act of terrorism”. Russia characterizes any consequences from its war in Ukraine as occurring on its own territory. Vladimir Putin on Monday 1 did not deviate from this rule^{There is} January commemorates the strikes that hit the Russian city of Belgorod two days earlier – the deadliest since the start of the invasion of Ukraine, killing twenty-five civilians, including four children, and injuring around a hundred.

The Russian president is surrounded by recovering soldiers from a military hospital in the Moscow region. The day before, he had not said a word about this city, located twenty kilometers opposite Kharkiv from the Ukrainian border, according to his will for the nation. Mr. Putin, while praising the country's unity, was content to discuss the conflict in general terms: “We have proven time and again that we can solve the most difficult tasks and that we will never back down because no force can separate us. »

On Monday, the president pretended to question the troops assembled before him about the appropriate response, promising. « [lui] More Boiled »Before deciding: “We attack decision-making points, places where soldiers and mercenaries congregate, other centers of this kind, and above all military positions, with precision weapons. This is what we will continue to do. (…) Ukraine is not our enemy »Vladimir Putin points out, however reassuringly “Intensification” These strikes.

According to him, the Ukrainian forces carried out the bombings deliberately “Before New Year's Eve, in the heart of the bustling city”What's more, by using multiple rocket launcher systems, An indiscriminate weapon – Russian troops have used countless times since the beginning of the conflict against Ukrainian cities.

One of the most exposed cities in Russia

Images of the Belgorod bombing are reminiscent of images that keep coming out of Ukraine: damaged buildings, burning cars, bodies on sidewalks, panicked civilians… Many residents report that air raid shelters remained intact, December 30, 2023. Closed and sirens sounding late, Ukraine is the most exposed to Russian bombings. One of the cities. The largest number recorded in a single day on Russian territory.

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