Putin hopes West acknowledges signals on potential strikes deep into Russian territory

Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed hope that the West picked up on his signals regarding the discussed strikes deep into Russian territory.

His remarks were shared on the Telegram channel of journalist of All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company Pavel Zarubin, Caliber.Az reports.

"They haven’t said anything to me about this. I hope they’ve heard," the president stated.

He noted that Ukrainian specialists are unable to use long-range weapons independently; only experts from NATO member states can do this. 

The president also emphasised that the Defence Ministry is exploring various response options to a potential decision allowing strikes deep into Russian territory.      

On October 26, the Russian defence ministry reported that its air defence systems had destroyed or intercepted 51 Ukrainian drones. 

Eighteen of these drones were intercepted over the Tambov region, approximately 450 kilometres southeast of Moscow. An additional 16 drones were taken down over the Belgorod border region, while the remainder were neutralized in the Voronezh, Oryol, and Kursk regions in southern Russia.  

Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov announced on Telegram that one woman was injured during the drone attack in Belgorod, which also caused damage to several vehicles.  

The Russian defence ministry only provides figures on the number of drones it has destroyed, without indicating how many Ukraine has launched. Additionally, Russian officials seldom disclose the full extent of damage from attacks, particularly concerning military or energy infrastructure.  

Reports from Russian and Ukrainian bloggers indicate that Russian forces have made further advances into several eastern Ukrainian towns, getting closer to capturing the strategic city of Pokrovsk.

By Naila Huseynova