Vladimir Putin will sit down with security chiefs today as he plots a revenge plan for the Crimea bridge blast that he branded a ‘terror attack’ by Ukraine.
Supporters of the Russian president have called on the despot to ‘stop talking’ and ‘painfully beat’ the Kyiv regime ahead of his Security Council meeting today, despite the Kremlin playing down fears of a nuclear response.
Ukrainian civilians were earlier warned by the deputy governor of Russia’s southern Stavropol region Valery Chernitsov to expect a critical response.
In a menacing video posted on Twitter, he said: ‘Ukrainians, leave your cities, especially the large ones. Because a big surprise is waiting for you. Sarmat missiles are ready to strike.’
But it was Putin’s former adviser Sergei Markov, who urged his former chief to ‘punish’ Ukraine as well as its allies, following the destruction of the Kerch bridge in Crimea, the Telegraph reports.
‘It’s time for Russia to stop talking and instead begin silently and painfully beating them,’ he said, sparking fears over how Putin will react.
Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky hit back at his counterpart’s terror claims, highlighting Russian missile strikes on Zaporizhzhia which he says have killed at least 43 people this week alone.
In a video addressing the world, the Kyiv leader said: ‘The constant terror against the civilian population is an obvious Russian refusal to engage in real negotiations.
‘Terrorism is a crime that must be punished. Terrorism at the state level is one of the most heinous international crimes, which threatens not just someone in the world, but the entire international community.’
Putin looks to be thinking about changing the way his regime is run as he responds to the humiliating counter-offensive from Kyiv forces.
After he instantly replaced his top commander with the infamous Sergei Surokivin, there is speculation he could now sack defence minister Sergei Shoigu and Valery Gerasimov, the chief of staff, despite them remaining by his side for the past decade.
It is a dangerous sign that Mr Surokivin has been called up to the Russian president’s sign, considering his brutal tactics in Syria as well as his history in firing democracy protesters in the 90s.
Russian officials are now expecting retaliation of the highest order to the bridge attack. Alexander Baskin, a Russian senator, confidently suggested that the Kremlin’s response would be ‘adequate, conscious and possibly asymmetric’, the Mirror reports.
He added: ‘This was a declaration of war without rules.’
A red-faced Putin yesterday blamed Ukrainian special forces for the explosion which severely damaged the key link to the Russian mainland.
