Kiev’s top security official has hinted at who is behind the attacks on the country’s infrastructure
The head of Ukraine’s National Security Council, Alexey Danilov © AP / Hanna Arhirova
Alexey Danilov, the head of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, said on Wednesday that there will be many more explosions across Russia as long as the conflict continues. While he did not directly take responsibility for any attacks on Russian infrastructure, Ukrainian media insinuated that blasts as far as Siberia were Kiev’s doing.
“I warned that ‘cotton blooms’ in Russia would grow more and more each day,” Danilov said in an appearance on state TV, using a slang term for explosion. “That’s not surprising, Russia is Russia. One needs to be polite in dealing with civilized societies, and everything will be fine. But if you continue the policy you chose today, then believe me, there will be blasts, not just there but in many other cities,” he added.
Danilov did not explain which explosions he was referring to. The Ukrainian outlet Izvestia, which quoted his words, listed a series of blasts that happened in Russia over the past week. Two of them were in Belgorod Region, across the Ukrainian border, and were blamed on Ukrainian artillery by local authorities.
The third was a blast and a fire at the oil refinery in Angarsk, in eastern Siberia’s Irkutsk Region, thousands of kilometers away. Two plant employees were killed and five injured. Russian authorities did not blame sabotage.
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Ukrainian officials have not claimed responsibility for acts such as the August car-bomb assassination of journalist Darya Dugina, or the October truck-bombing of the Crimean Bridge, though some of them publicly joked about both incidents.
Danilov himself posted a meme wishing Russian President Vladimir Putin a “happy birthday” after the Crimean Bridge attack. Later that month, Danilov urged the eradication of the Russian language in Ukraine, saying his compatriots ought to study English instead.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said last month that missile attacks on the Ukrainian power grid were a response to terrorist strikes against Russian infrastructure. Ukrainian drones used to attack the regions of Kursk, Belgorod, Voronezh, and the Crimean peninsula were supplied by a US company, according to Russian media. The Americans also had a hand in the drone strikes targeting Russian strategic bomber bases in Ryazan and Saratov Regions, according to Denis Pushilin, the acting head of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR).
Earlier this month, US media outlets reported that Washington no longer advised Kiev against striking inside Russia. Germany also said Kiev’s right to “self-defense” did not end at Ukraine’s claimed borders.
