Russia will “intensify” the bombing of military targets in Ukraine in response to Ukrainian military strikes on the Russian city of Belgorod, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned today, as Kiev reported a “record” New Year’s Eve attack by 90 Russian drones in many Ukrainian regions.

“We will intensify the bombing, no crime against civilians will go unpunished, that’s for sure.” Putin said during a visit to a military hospital, clarifying that military strikes would target “military installations”.

Twenty-four people were killed and around 100 were injured in Saturday’s Ukrainian attack on Belgorod, which is near the Russian-Ukrainian border.

“We bomb with precision weapons decision-making places, places where soldiers and mercenaries gather, and other such centers, mainly military installations (…) This is what we will continue to do,” the Russian leader said.

Characterizing “terrorist attack» attack on Belgorod, he accused Ukrainian forces of shelling “the center of the city, where people were walking before the New Year.

However, Putin argued that “Ukraine is not an enemy” per se and accused the West of using Kiev to “solve its own problems” with Russia.

The Russian president also estimated that Russian forces now have the “strategic initiative” on the Ukrainian front, where they are gaining ground after the failure of the Ukrainian counteroffensive.

The bombing in Belgorod followed a spate of Russian shelling of heavenly cities on Friday that left around 40 dead.

“Record” of drone attacks in areas of Ukraine

For its part, Kiev announced today that the country received a “record” number of attacks by 90 Russian drones yesterday on New Year’s Eve, with most of the bombing targeting Lviv and Odesa, killing at least one person.

According to the Ukrainian Air Force, 87 of the 90 Shahed drones launched by Russian forces from four directions were intercepted. “The enemy used a record number of attack drones.”

The Air Force also reported bombing by four S-300 missiles in the Kharkiv area and three Kh-31 and one Kh-59 missiles targeting the Kherson and Zaporizhia areas.

In Lviv, shelling destroyed a university and a museum.

In Odesa province, one person was killed and eight wounded in this latest wave of Russian attacks, according to local authorities. In Khmelnitsky, a child was injured.

A woman was also killed by Russian shelling in Kherson province today, regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said.