Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia would maintain its attacks on Ukrainian energy systems on Thursday after the Kremlin leader indicated the war in Ukraine could go on for a long time.
Strikes that have left millions without electricity and water at the start of winter but the Russian military has said the campaign is part of its military plan. "There's a lot of noise about our strikes on the energy infrastructure of a neighbouring country. Yes, we do that. But who started it?" Mr Putin said at an awards ceremony in the Kremlin, adding that the criticism would "not interfere with our combat missions."
He presented the strikes as a response to a blast on Moscow's bridge to annexed Crimea and other attacks, accusing Kyiv of blowing up power lines from the Kursk nuclear power plant and not supplying water to Donetsk in eastern Ukraine.
"Not supplying water to a city of more than a million people is an act of genocide," Mr Putin said.
A Kremlin spokesman said the threat to Crimea was rising. "There are certainly risks because the Ukrainian side continues its policy of organising terrorist attacks. But, on the other hand, information we get indicates that effective countermeasures are being taken," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
The Russia leader on Wednesday said nuclear tension had risen because of the war as he gave no sign of any intent to let up in the battle.
“Of course, it might be a lengthy process,” he told a meeting of the Kremlin's human rights council.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy — who was declared Time magazine's “Person of the Year” on Wednesday for his “defence of freedom” — said six people were killed in the latest Russian strikes, this time on a village in the frontline region of Donetsk.
That came a day after Ukrainian artillery strikes killed six people in the Russian-occupied regional capital city of Donetsk, local officials said.
Ukraine war latest — in pictures
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The coffin of Valeriy Krasnyan is brought out of St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery in Kyiv. Getty Images -
Repairmen work near a residential building damaged following a missile attack in Vyshgorod, outside of Kyiv. AFP -
An elderly man walks in front of a residential building damaged following a missile attack in Vyshgorod. AFP -
A boy kisses a dog while he charges his phone at the heating tent dubbed a Point of Invincibly in Bucha, Ukraine. AP -
A couple uses a laptop in the heating tent. AP -
Workers dig out a tire from the rubble of a destroyed storage building at a grain processing center so they can use it for repairs in Siversk, Donetsk region. Reuters -
The Chernihiv region found itself on the frontline of Russia's invasion in February, when Moscow's forces were attempting to quickly seize Kyiv. Getty -
Russia ultimately retreated from northern Ukraine to focus its attack on the east and south. Getty -
The city of Chernihiv on November 28, 2022 in Chernihiv, Ukraine. Getty -
A worker fits in new windows of a building in Chernihiv. Getty -
People receive food from AFAT - Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency in Chernihiv. Getty -
The people Chernihiv queue up for hot food. Getty -
Oleksandr Antonenko stands on a balcony of his apartment damaged by a recent Russian military strike in Kherson. Reuters -
Mr Antonenko and his mother Liudmyla inside their apartment recently damaged by a Russian military strike in Kherson. Reuters -
A woman walks in an underpass in Kyiv, on November 26, 2022. AFP -
Friends hug after the arrival of a train in the southern city of Kherson. Getty -
Residents sort through donated clothing at an aid centre in Kherson. Getty -
A Ukrainian soldier stands with a machinegun near Liman in the Donetsk region. AP -
Children attend a physical education class at Spilno School in Kyiv. Getty -
A woman embraces her friend, a soldier in the Ukrainian army, in Kherson. AFP -
Residents inspect a crater left by a Russian military strike in the village of Komyshuvakha in the Zaporizhzhia region. Reuters -
Resident Tetiana Reznychenko walks past a work by world-renowned graffiti artist Banksy, on the wall of a destroyed building in the Ukrainian village of Horenka. Reuters -
Ukrainian soldiers fire artillery at Russian positions near Bakhmut in the Donetsk region. AP -
A fisherman sails his boat on the Dnipro as black smoke rises from an oil reserve in Kherson. AFP
In the Kremlin meeting, Mr Putin appeared to caution against expectations of any early resolution to the conflict, repeating that it would be a long process.
But he sparked fresh concerns in the West as he broached anew the issue of whether the war could escalate to the use of nuclear weapons.
Mr Putin, who has previously hinted at the possibility of the use of small tactical weapons in the war, remained evasive on his intentions.
“Such a threat is rising. Why make a secret out of it here?” he asked.
“Russia will under no circumstances use them first.
“But if it does not use them first under any circumstances, then it will not be the second to use them either, because the possibilities of using them in the event of a nuclear strike against our territory are very limited.”
Putin's inner circle — in pictures
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Head of Russia's SVR intelligence service Sergei Naryshkin has seen his status eroded by the strong resistance encountered in Ukraine, which he did not foresee. EPA -
Head of Russia's Roscosmos space agency Dmitry Rogozin has threatened to abandon a Nasa astronaut on the International Space Station. AFP -
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu was one of the architects of Moscow's intervention in Syria. AFP -
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Russia's oil giant Rosneft chief Igor Sechin. He has been described as Mr Putin's right-hand man. AFP -
Secretary of Russia's Security Council Nikolai Patrushev attends a meeting in Moscow. He is said to have known Mr Putin for 50 years. AFP -
Sergei Ivanov, Russian special representative on questions of ecology and transport, is a close friend of Mr Putin. AFP -
Federal Security Service director Alexander Bortnikov is responsible for a huge network of agents in Russia. AFP -
At 58, president of the Duma Lower House of Parliament Vyacheslav Volodin is one of the younger members of the inner circle. He has been touted as a possible successor to Mr Putin. AFP
US State Department spokesman Ned Price condemned the nuclear talk, as vague as it was.
“We think any loose talk of nuclear weapons is absolutely irresponsible,” Mr Price told reporters.
“It is dangerous, and it goes against the spirit of that statement that has been at the core of the nuclear non-proliferation regime since the Cold War.”
After more than nine months of war, Russian forces have missed most of their key military goals, including toppling the Ukrainian government and completely capturing the Donbas region.
Vladimir Putin annexes four regions of Ukraine — in pictures
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From left, Moscow-appointed head of Kherson region Vladimir Saldo, Moscow-appointed head of Zaporizhzhia region Yevgeny Balitsky, Russian President Vladimir Putin, leader of the Donetsk People's Republic Denis Pushilin, and leader of the Luhansk People's Republic Leonid Pasechnik during a ceremony to sign an annexation agreement with Russia in Moscow. AP -
Russians gather for a celebration after the ceremony in central Moscow. EPA -
People gather near a screen showing Mr Putin during a broadcast of the ceremony. Reuters -
Mr Putin speaks during the ceremony to sign the treaties for the new territories' accession to Russia at the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow. EPA -
Law enforcement officers stand guard as people walk towards Red Square to attend the ceremony marking the annexation of the Russian-controlled territories. Reuters -
Participants listen to Mr Putin at the ceremony in the Georgievsky Hall of the Great Kremlin Palace in Moscow. Reuters -
Honour guards attend the ceremony. Reuters -
Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu arrives at the ceremony. AP -
People walk towards Red Square in Moscow. Reuters -
People gather in front of screens located near the Kremlin before the live broadcast of the ceremony. Reuters
Nevertheless, Mr Putin told the meeting that the Ukraine lands that Russian forces have occupied and declared annexed were a “significant result” of the military campaign.
He made special reference to Russia's control now of all the land along the Azov Sea.
“The Azov Sea has become an internal sea to the Russian Federation — that's a serious thing,” he noted.
But he promised there would not be a new wave of mobilisation, amid domestic Russian fears of a new call-up. Western officials say Russian troops have taken heavy personnel and equipment losses in recent fighting.
“Out of 300,000 of our mobilised fighters, our men, defenders of the fatherland, 150,000 are in the area of operations”, including 77,000 in combat units, he said.
