Zelensky says Putin lifted limits on Russian attacks against civilians

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told the Financial Times that intercepted communications suggest Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed his military commanders in September to abandon earlier limits on aerial attacks and increase strikes on civilian sites. Zelensky said the order, which he described as indicating "there are no rules now," came as Russia stepped up attacks on Kyiv, including schools, hospitals, telecommunications facilities and data centres.

Zelensky made the comments from a bomb shelter at a Kyiv school that had been hit by a Russian jet-powered drone the previous day. The drone’s warhead pierced the floor but did not detonate, and the school’s director said 104 students and 60 teachers escaped to the shelter before the impact.

The Kremlin denied deliberately targeting civilian locations, with spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stating Russian forces do not strike schools or hospitals. Ukraine’s Education Ministry, however, has recorded more than 4,700 attacks on schools since the invasion began, and the World Health Organization has verified over 3,000 attacks on health facilities.

Zelensky said the expanded targeting was intended to pressure civilians, force displacement and weaken Ukraine’s resistance after Russian forces failed to achieve battlefield objectives in the Donbas. He noted recent strikes on the National Academy of Sciences, the Pivdennyi Bridge, data centres and other infrastructure.

According to Zelensky, Russia launched around 500 drones in the previous 24 hours, about half of them fast jet-powered models. Ukrainian defenses intercepted roughly 57% of those, compared with 85-90% of conventional drones. He said F-16 fighter jets have been effective against the new drones, but many of the aircraft are abroad for maintenance, prompting Kyiv to seek Western assistance to relocate work to Ukraine.

Zelensky also criticized the United States and European governments, saying they have not applied enough economic or diplomatic pressure on Moscow to end the war.