Terrifying order issued; Putin: "There are no rules anymore…"

Zelensky added in an interview with the Financial Times, published on Thursday, October 1, that “Putin said there are no more rules.”

The Financial Times added that this alleged abandonment of basic principles of warfare, under which attacks on civilians are prohibited, has led to a sharp increase in Russian attacks on Ukraine, with civilian bridges now also among the targets.

Zelenskyy said that Putin issued the order in September, when Russia began intensifying air strikes on Kyiv, targeting schools, hospitals and data centers.

According to the Ukrainian president, after failing to seize territory in Donbas, Putin is now resorting to “mass attacks, mass killings” in an effort to terrorize the civilian population, drive people out of cities and weaken Ukraine’s ability to wage war.

“At the beginning of the war, the Russian Federation largely focused its attacks on energy and military facilities, to which Ukraine responded with similar strikes. Now Russian drones are not limited to targeting civilians only in the Kherson and Sumy regions, but are also striking infrastructure facilities in the rear. This is an attempt to pressure people and spread fear through continuous bombardment,” Zelensky said.

The Financial Times said it reviewed online footage of an attack on a school in Kyiv’s Solomianskyi district on October 1 and analyzed the remains of a Russian drone found after the attack.

According to the newspaper, the examination found markings from Russian manufacturers and text in Russian. Some components indicated that they had been manufactured in Russia on July 28, while others appeared to have been produced in Western markets, the FT reported.

It also noted that Russian forces have been carrying out near-continuous drone attacks on Kyiv and the surrounding region, including jet-powered unmanned aircraft, as well as ballistic missile strikes since the end of August 2026.

The targets of the mass strikes included civilian warehouses, logistics facilities, shopping centers, office complexes and data centers.

Yesterday, October 1, Russian forces struck the Southern Bridge in Kyiv, damaging its structure. Traffic on the bridge was completely blocked, and such attacks continued today as well.