Russia Threatens to Intensify Strikes on Ukraine After Zelenskyy’s Statement

Reform.news Editorial Team · 4 October 2026, 15:57

https://reform.news/en/russia-threatens-to-intensify-strikes-on-ukraine-after-zelenskyy-s-statement/

Russia’s Defense Ministry said that following Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s statement about intensifying strikes on Russian oil refineries, Russian forces would intensify strikes on military and defense-industrial facilities in Ukraine.

The ministry said that mass strikes on Kyiv and other Ukrainian regions were carried out in response to actions by the Ukrainian side. Among them, Russia’s Defense Ministry cited strikes on civilian facilities in Russia that, according to its account, were aimed at disrupting voting in State Duma elections, attacks on election commissions, as well as an attempted mass attack involving more than 1,600 Ukrainian UAVs on Moscow on September 19 and 20.

The Defense Ministry also recalled attacks on St. Petersburg in June 2026 that, according to the ministry, were aimed at disrupting an international economic forum.

The Russian ministry also accused Ukraine of striking residential areas in Belgorod overnight.

“Following Zelenskyy’s statement today, strikes by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation on military and defense-industrial facilities, as well as related infrastructure in Kyiv and other regions of Ukraine, will be intensified,” Russia’s Defense Ministry said.