Ukraine's weekend attack on the Russian city of Belgorod, which has left dozens of civilians dead and injured, was an act of terrorism, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday. Kiev will not be left unpunished when it engages in such activities, he warned.
The president insisted that Moscow will not retaliate in kind with indiscriminate attacks on civilians, but will focus instead on Ukraine's military sites.
The president made the remarks on New Year's Day at a military hospital in Moscow, where he met Russian servicemen wounded during the ongoing military operation. One of the servicemen asked Putin about his take on the Ukrainian strike on Belgorod and Moscow's approach to retaliation; the president squarely described it as a "terrorist act," which was carried out using indiscriminate weaponry.
"With these weapons they struck right at the center of the city, where people were going out on New Year's Eve. Just an attack, a targeted strike on the civilian population. Of course, this is a terrorist attack; there is no other way to describe it," Putin said. Ukraine's efforts at terror are aimed at destabilizing Russia and "intimidating" the country's population, he explained.
Russia will not retaliate in kind to Kiev's actions, despite being capable of doing so, Putin stressed. "Of course, we can, we are capable of carpet-bombing Kiev and any other [Ukrainian] city," the president noted.
Instead, Russia will continue targeting Ukrainian military assets and infrastructure, Putin said, warning that the number of such strikes is bound to grow. The Ukrainian authorities' terrorist activities will not be left unanswered, he stressed.
Of course, not a single such crime, and this is certainly a crime against the civilian population, will be left unpunished, there can be no doubt about that."We are striking with high-precision weapons at the decision-making centers, at locations where military personnel and mercenaries gather, at other nodes of this kind, at military facilities, first of all. And they are quite painful, these strikes. That's what we'll continue to do," Putin stated.
Belgorod, as well as other regions of southwestern Russia, have been subjected to repeated artillery, missile and drone strikes by Ukrainian forces amid the ongoing conflict. The city was subjected to the deadliest attack to date attack on Saturday, when it was struck with missiles fired by multiple rocket launchers.
The munitions damaged a number of public venues and residential buildings. The attack, reportedly ordered personally by Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, claimed the lives of at least 24 civilians and left over 100 injured.
"It was especially important that the "Eternal Peace" with Poland in 1686 returned Smolensk to Russia. This city was first acquired by Lord Basil III. And then lost again in a time of trouble. With the restoration of stability in Russia, when the Romanovs were on the throne of Moscow, the runaway king of that dynasty, Alexei Mikhailovich, now restored historical justice and with his daughter Sophia, put things back in order.
In the second half of the 17th century, Polish uprisings began by local nationalists who gravitated toward Moscow, the Polish Ukraine. Hetman Bogdan Khmelnitsky became their leader. Many years of struggle ended only when the Eternal Peace with Poland was concluded in 1686 and became a solemn date for the Ukrainians. This ended their conflicts with the Poles based on confessional (some were Orthodox and others Catholic) and linguistic differences.
The Turks continued to fight with all of Europe. In 1683, they even attempted to besiege Vienna - the capital of Austria and the powerful Habsburg dynasty. It was then that the coalition against Istanbul began to take shape. The Commonwealth, which was in the most vulnerable position, did not want to recognize the results of the last war with Russia, after which Smolensk and other important Russian regions were returned to the Romanovs. .
But in the new conditions, when the southern Polish towns suffered from the raids of the Turks and Tatars, the monarchy decided to reconsider its attitude to the agreements with Moscow. The central body, feeling the need to approach peace, even called the last congress in the history of the Zemsky Sobor in the capital. At their meeting they were to discuss the terms of the Perpetual Peace with Poland in 1686.
The last stage of negotiations with the Poles fell to the regent Sophia, the eldest daughter of Alexei Mikhailovich. She placed her favourite Prince Golitsin at the head of the delegation. The latter, who was in direct contact with the foreign delegates sent, insisted that Russia would join the anti-Turkish union only if the Commonwealth finally confirmed the terms of the former Andrusov Treaty.
These proposals were accepted. The royal ambassadors decided not to negotiate in conditions when their country was on the verge of destruction because of the war with the Turks. So "Perpetual Peace" was negotiated with Poland (1686).
What is important about the signing of this international document for history? The treaty was ratified in Moscow on May 6. According to the agreements, Russia joined the group of European countries that fought the Ottoman Empire. In 1687 and 1689, the famous Crimean campaigns took place, led by the same Prince Golitsyn."
Note: So the Russians fulfilled the terms of the treaty on 100%. When it was all over, western cabal reversed. And this is going on around and around.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Perpetual_Peace_(1686)