The Kremlin threatened Ukraine by saying Kyiv would have to “pay a price” for “actions that have taken place in recent months” in a statement on Monday.
Dmitry Peskov, spokesperson for Russian leader Vladimir Putin, made the remarks at a press briefing but did not specify which “actions” he meant.
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“This is also something the president has spoken about – Ukraine will have to pay a price for the actions that have taken place in recent months,” Peskov said.
While Peskov has been vague in his remarks, Kyiv has stepped up attacks on major logistics warehouses and Russian refineries in 2026, forcing the world’s third-largest oil producer to import automobile fuel from overseas amid a sprawling crisis.
Peskov added that the Russian armed forces were given the choice to hit targets they “consider appropriate” as attacks on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure escalate.
“Our armed forces continue the special military operation and consistently strike targets they consider appropriate,” Peskov added, referring to the Ukraine invasion using the Kremlin-approved term.
The statement came amid intensified Russian strikes on civilian objects such as trains, data centers, educational institutions, and gas stations throughout September, with particular ferocity seen in recent days.
Kyiv Post correspondents have reported a series of explosions on Monday in and around the city center, at a frequency unseen for months.
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The strikes also included fatal attacks on border crossings with Moldova, and forced shutoffs at those along the Polish border that prompted visiting Western officials to seek shelter.
On Monday, a Russian drone struck the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and trapped locals inside a burning building in central Kyiv – just meters away from a junction also hit by a Russian missile in October 2022.
For weeks, Russia has also struck data centers in Ukraine, including but not limited to an attack on the Comsonova data center on Saturday morning and four others on the same day a few days earlier, with Ukrainian Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi cautioning that Kyiv is bracing for the “worst possible scenario.”
On Sept. 21, Peskov also ruled out progress in US-mediated peace talks.