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Putin says Kyiv’s ‘decision-making centers’ could be target
STORY: :: Kyiv, UkrainePresident Vladimir Putin said Russia had struck Ukraine’s energy infrastructure on Thursday in response to Kyiv using U.S. medium-range missiles… and that it could use its new Oreshnik hypersonic missile to attack “decision-making centers” in Kyiv.:: Near Odesa, UkraineUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy accused Russia of a “despicable escalation,” saying it had used cruise missiles with cluster munitions in its attack on power infrastructure.:: Astana, KazakhstanPutin also said that Russia would use all weapons at its disposal against Ukraine if Kyiv were to acquire nuclear arms.“If the country with which we are currently fighting becomes a nuclear power, what should we do? In this case, we will adopt and use everything – I want to emphasize this – exactly all the means of destruction at Russia’s disposal. Everything.”The New York Times reported last week that unidentified Western officials suggested U.S. President Joe Biden could provide Ukraine with nuclear weapons before he leaves office.Putin said it would be practically impossible for Ukraine to produce a nuclear weapon, but that it might be able to make a so-called “dirty bomb.”Russia has repeatedly said, without providing evidence, that Ukraine might use such a device.Heorhii Tykhyi, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s foreign ministry, urged the international community to react to Putin’s threats.And called on the country’s partners to speed up the delivery of military aid. “Putin obviously tries to influence the new U.S. administration by those statements…” // “It is very important if we treat it fairly. These are the statements… this blackmail is the expansion of war and the threat of expansion of war, unacceptable one.”:: Astana, KazakhstanOn Thursday, Putin said that there were no preconditions to start talks with Ukraine on a possible peace settlement…But that the terms he set out in June for a deal remained unchanged.Those include dropping NATO ambitions and handing over the four provinces claimed by Moscow.Zelenskiy said on Thursday that Putin’s “promotion” of the Oreshnik missile shows that he does not want to end the war or allow others to try.