Russian Envoy: Zelensky Risking Ukrainian Lives With Attacks on Moscow

By Staff, Agencies

Russia’s ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Dmitry Polyansky, accused Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky of disregarding the well-being of Ukrainians by continuing attacks against Moscow despite Russian retaliation against Ukraine’s military and industrial infrastructure.

Speaking at an OSCE session in Vienna on Thursday, Polyansky said Zelensky continues to seek attacks capable of causing visible damage in Moscow in order to demonstrate to Western countries that Ukraine remains capable of inflicting losses on Russia.

He said Zelensky repeatedly threatens escalation while later criticizing Russia for large-scale strikes. Polyansky urged the Ukrainian president to remember that “people who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.”

According to the Russian envoy, Russian retaliatory strikes against facilities supporting Ukraine’s military effort are “many times more powerful” than Ukrainian attacks.

He claimed the strikes were damaging Ukraine’s remaining industrial and infrastructure capacity and pushing the country toward a severe energy and transport crisis ahead of winter.

Polyansky also accused Zelensky of prioritizing political and financial interests over the welfare of Ukrainian citizens, while citing a series of corruption investigations involving senior Ukrainian officials.

The remarks followed a major drone attack on the Moscow region on Tuesday night. Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said Ukraine launched 650 drones toward the capital, most of which were intercepted by Russian air defenses.

The attack reportedly killed two people, while another civilian was killed in a separate drone attack in the region on Thursday, according to Governor Andrey Vorobyov.

Zelensky said in a Reuters interview last week that he had ordered Ukraine’s military to double the number of attacks deep inside Russia, particularly against oil refineries.

In response, Russia’s Defense Ministry said strikes against military and military-industrial facilities in Kiev and other Ukrainian regions would be intensified following Zelensky’s statement. The ministry maintains that Russian forces do not target civilians.