Zelensky accuses Russian commanders of ‘crazy’ tactics to escalate war in Ukraine

‘They are driving people to their deaths,’ Ukrainian president warns

Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Vladimir Putin’s commanders of using “crazy” tactics to escalate the war in Ukraine.

The Ukrainian president was referring to Bakhmut, which lies on a main road leading to the Ukrainian-held cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk.

Russian forces have repeatedly tried to seize the city, and are now attempting to accelerate the invasion through drastic measures, he said.

Zelensky accuses Russian commanders of using ‘crazy’ tactics (PA Media)

“This is where the craziness of the Russian command is most evident. Day after day, for months, they are driving people to their deaths there, concentrating the highest level of artillery strikes,” Mr Zelensky said in his nightly video address.

The looming battle for Kherson city at the mouth of the Dnipro River will determine whether Ukraine can loosen Russia’s grip on the south.

Ukrainian soldiers search for explosives at a recaptured area in the north of Kherson (EPA)

The Russian-appointed Kherson regional government said it had rebased to the left bank of the Dnipro, Russia’s RIA news agency reported, as forces braced for an increase in fighting.

Meanwhile, Mr Putin’s forces continued to “terrorise” the Kyiv region, launching several attacks on Wednesday night, governor Oleksiy Kuleba said on the Telegram messaging app.

Evacuees from Kherson gather at the railway station in Anapa, southern Russia (AP)

“The elimination of the fire and the consequences of the attack are ongoing,” he said, adding there were no casualties.

It comes after Moscow conducted a diplomatic campaign this week to promote an accusation that Kyiv is preparing to release nuclear material with a so-called “dirty bomb”, an allegation the West calls baseless and a potential pretext for Russian escalation.

Vladimir Putin’s invasion has reached a crucial point signalled by Russia’s multiple attempts to escalate violence (AP)

Elsewhere, Russia once again extended its threats to the West as a senior Russian foreign ministry official said that commercial satellites from the United States and its allies could become legitimate targets for Russia if they were involved in the war in Ukraine.

“Quasi-civilian infrastructure may be a legitimate target for a retaliatory strike,” Konstantin Vorontsov, deputy director of the foreign ministry’s department for non-proliferation and arms control, was quoted as saying by the Tass news agency.

“We are talking about the involvement of components of civilian space infrastructure, including commercial, by the United States and its allies in armed conflicts,” Vorontsov was quoted as saying at the UN.