The speaker of the Russian parliament, Vyacheslav Volodin, has threatened to use weapons of mass destruction against Ukraine in the event of attacks on the civilian population in Russia.
"All of this could lead us to use a weapon that leaves no trace of anyone behind," Volodin said, according to a press release issued by the parliament, the State Duma, on Tuesday. He warned against allowing the situation to escalate that far.
The trigger for the new threat is a drone attack on a dormitory in Starobilsk in the Russian-occupied Luhansk region. The occupying authorities say 21 civilians were killed in the attack last week. Ukraine’s General Staff said the strike had targeted a Russian military drone unit.
Russian President Vladimir Putin subsequently ordered retaliation, and on Sunday, the Russian military deployed new Oreshnik medium-range missiles in a major attack on Ukraine. The capital, Kiev, was hit particularly hard.
Further strikes on Kiev are to be expected, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry, which again cited retaliation for the deaths of civilians in Starobilsk.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also informed US Secretary of State Marco Rubio about the possible attacks, according to Russian readout of the conversation.