Kremlin Says Strikes Will Hit Anywhere in Ukraine as Fortress Cities Come Under Intensified Assault

The Kremlin has declared that Russian forces will continue to strike targets across the entire territory of Ukraine, including infrastructure near the Polish border, as Moscow’s campaign to seize the remaining Donbas strongholds of Slovyansk and Kramatorsk intensifies.

Speaking on 14 September, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists that Russian troops are “carrying out their tasks across the entire territory of Ukraine and continue to do so, and they will continue doing so.” The statement came a day after a drone strike hit a Ukrzaliznytsia locomotive stationed just 2 km from the Yahodyn-Dorohusk border crossing with Poland. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned that the coming weeks and months will see “very intense Russian activity” and that more serious attacks on Polish territory cannot be ruled out. Source: Ukrainska Pravda

The strike, which also damaged a petrol station near the crossing, occurred shortly after a train carrying Western politicians passed through the same route, according to reports. The EU and Ukraine have blamed Russia for the attack, though Moscow has not confirmed responsibility for that specific incident.

No Plan and No European Mediation

The Kremlin’s belligerent rhetoric is matched by a refusal to commit to any formal peace process. On 9 September, Peskov stated that there is currently no official plan to end the war, and that Moscow objects to the involvement of the E3 – France, Germany, and the United Kingdom – in any talks. Source: Ukrainska Pravda This position underscores the Kremlin’s rejection of European mediation as long as the E3 continues to provide military and financial support to Kyiv.

In a further sign of the deteriorating diplomatic landscape, a Russian court has for the third time issued an in absentia “arrest” warrant for Andriy Yermak, head of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office. The move, reported on 9 September, is widely seen as a symbolic act with no practical enforcement value but reflects the Kremlin’s intent to criminalise Ukrainian leadership in Russian legal proceedings. Source: Ukrainska Pravda

Fortress Cities Under Fire

On the ground, the situation in the Donbas is becoming increasingly dire. Slovyansk and Kramatorsk, the largest cities still under full Ukrainian control in the eastern region, are now facing daily assaults. Police in Donetsk region have begun forced evacuations of families with children, with officer Pavlo Dyachenko warning that security has deteriorated to the point where “this is the only way to save your life.” Source: BBC News

Glide bomb attacks on these cities have surged. According to Ukrainian police data analysed by the BBC, the number of glide bombs launched in the Slovyansk-Kramatorsk area rose from 40 in June to 109 in July, with 92 recorded in August. One morning on 25 August, nine glide bombs hit Kramatorsk, seven of which struck civilian apartment blocks, wounding 24 people including a two-month-old baby. The bombs, typically weighing 250 or 500 kg but sometimes up to 1,500 kg, are considered one of Russia’s most lethal weapons. “The devastation they cause is simply incredible,” Dyachenko told the BBC.

Casualty figures reinforce the trend: in June, 70 civilians were wounded in the two cities; by August, that number had risen to 212. Deaths rose from 16 to 20 to 15 over the same period. Residential housing and infrastructure have both come under repeated attack, causing “very significant destruction,” according to Dyachenko.

The third city in this “fortress belt” – Kostyantynivka – appears to be in critical condition. Reports say only a limited number of Ukrainian troops remain there, and Russia claims full control, though this has not been independently verified. Source: BBC News

What This Means

The Kremlin’s dual signals – a refusal to negotiate and a warning that strikes will hit all of Ukraine, including near NATO’s border – suggest Moscow is betting on a military breakthrough in the Donbas before any serious talks can occur. The intensified glide bomb campaign against Slovyansk and Kramatorsk is an attempt to break Ukraine’s defensive line and force a collapse of its eastern front. For Kyiv and its Western partners, the question is whether Ukraine can hold these cities long enough to change the calculus in any future diplomatic engagement.