Zelensky: Putin gave an order to abandon the rules of war

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview for the British Financial Times that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered commanders to deviate from the rules of war in September, which led to a marked increase in Russian attacks on civilian targets.

The Ukrainian leader cited intelligence data, including intercepted conversations of Russian officials. He said there are no rules now, said the Ukrainian president, referring to the host of the Kremlin.

Zelensky said that Russia has changed the way it conducts attacks. As he noted, previously Moscow focused primarily on critical infrastructure and military goals. Currently, in his opinion, schools, data centers and telecommunications nodes are also becoming targets.

Russia is preparing to intensify air strikes

Zelensky argues that Russia is preparing to intensify airstrikes on the largest Ukrainian cities. The aim is to isolate them from the rest of the country before the coming winter. The centers at risk include Lviv, reports the Financial Times, citing Ukrainian and European officials familiar with the intelligence data.

The daily also reports that representatives of the Ukrainian authorities warn against possible attacks on facilities related to nuclear energy. According to this information, Russia would seek to disconnect them from the Ukrainian energy grid in order to put pressure on Kiev before the talks next year.

Hard data contradicts Russia's claims

The Kremlin has repeatedly denied that the Russian army intentionally struck civilian facilities in Ukraine. However, the Ukrainian authorities present different data.

The Ministry of Education in Kiev reported that more than 4,700 Russian attacks on educational institutions have been documented this year alone. In turn, the World Health Organization reported at the beginning of May that over 3,000 attacks on medical facilities had been recorded since the invasion began.

According to Ukraine, the massive airstrikes, including on Kiev, are Russia's response to the failure of its many years of attempts to fully occupy Donbas. The Ukrainian leader said that disrupting everyday life and forcing residents to leave their homes would weaken the country's ability to continue resistance.