Vladimir Putin says he will continue to launch attacks on Ukraine’s electrical infrastructure.
The Russian president has vowed to continue attacking Ukraine’s power systems, despite global criticism of the attacks that left millions without electricity and water at the start of winter.
“There is a lot of noise about our strikes on the energy infrastructure of a neighboring country. Yes, we do that. But who started it?” Putin said, adding that criticism “would not interfere with our combat missions.”
He portrayed the attacks as a response to an explosion on Moscow’s bridge to annexed Crimea and other attacks, accusing Kiev of blowing up power lines from the Kursk nuclear power plant and cutting off water supplies to Donetsk in eastern Ukraine.
“Not supplying water to a city with more than a million inhabitants is an act of genocide,” Putin said.
Russia has faced claims that its attacks on Ukraine’s energy systems and infrastructure constitute war crimes.