"I’ll tell you how I think it should be. I don’t know how it will be. I am absolutely convinced that since we started this military operation, strikes on infrastructure, transportation, energy and all kinds of other infrastructure, should have become a permanent system as early as March. A permanent system. And back then, we talked about it quite a bit. Because all this talk about humanism, it looked very strange from the very beginning. Humanism is not to cut off the tail of a dog piece by piece, but in this case to finish this military operation as quickly and successfully as possible. Because then fewer people will die both on our side and on their side, both civilians and non-civilians, and all kinds of people. In order to do this as quickly as possible, we need to disable the enemy to act effectively, yes, and to use the infrastructure, including civilian infrastructure, that exists. It is necessary to disorganize the possibilities for him to use this infrastructure and make it difficult in every possible way to supply weapons, ammunition, to transport manpower and so on.

Now, to my mind, strikes on Ukraine’s infrastructure should become systematic. This is not the case, when we today or tomorrow answered, so to say, to the blowing up of Crimean Bridge. It is necessary to start breaking the entire, to the extent possible, of course, infrastructure of Ukrainian state. Because this infrastructure allows the Ukrainian army, the hired guns and other our enemies to act more efficiently.

.... Therefore, strikes, in my personal opinion, again, strikes on Ukraine’s infrastructure, without any “ifs”, without any “here's if they do it again”, without any red lines, these strikes should become the system. First of all, this concerns the ability of the Ukrainian state to supply Western military aid to the front line. How many times have we talked about this? In March, in April, in May and so on and so forth. We were told to mind our own business, you don’t understand anything. These bridges can’t be blown up. But the Crimean Dridge was blown up. It was blown up and, therefore, made traffic on it difficult. And the Antonovskiy Bridge was also, yes, damaged to such an extent that it is still impossible to move heavy equipment across it, as far as I understand. It’s still impossible. And pontoon crossings across the Dnieper, well, everyone understands perfectly well that this cannot be an adequate substitute, or there are ferry crossings, an adequate substitute, as it were, yes, for a permanent bridge. So if for them it is possible, for you why you can't, for us why we can’t, it’s not very clear. Therefore, it is better than, as it were, to deal with this equipment on the front line, yes, it is better to do everything to prevent it from reaching this front line. And there is no need in this case to talk about someone’s interests, no talk about humanism, because there is no humanism in this. There is no humanism in allowing American guns and missiles to reach the front line and kill our soldiers. There is no humanism in that.

So, everything should be done to make difficult for the Ukrainian state to act. Talks that this could do harm for the civilians. It will do harm, yes, it will do harm for the civilians. But keeping all this in mind, firstly, no one calls to strike residential districts. This is out of the question; this is unnecessary even if the Ukrainian army units are there. The infrastructure: bridges, power stations, pipelines, and everything related to it, should be hit, first of all. This is the first.

Second. Listen, the Ukrainian army has been striking the civil infrastructure for all these 8 years, hasn’t it? The Ukrainian army is striking the civil infrastructure, including the border regions of Russia, isn’t it? Isn’t it? This is civil infrastructure, isn’t this?

Third, regarding the population of Ukraine. I must say that it is the population of Ukraine, it is a pity, but I must state, who predominantly supported the path that led Ukraine to the war with Russia. For all these 30 years, to this or that extent, but most Ukrainians supported the path that resulted in war with Russia. The only thing required from Ukraine was to remain militarily neutral. Nothing else was required at all.

They actually received an unheard-of gift of fate in the form of a state called Ukraine, which has never existed in such a form in history. They received a gift of fate. They failed to use this gift competently. All they had to do was to live peacefully, trade with both the East and the West, even if they spoke only the Ukrainian language, establish their own culture and identity. But militarily to remain neutral. They didn’t do that. In fact, they neglected it. Now let them take the fall. Yes, they may suffer. But they’re responsible. Because including in these towns and villages, which are mentioned, yes, relatives and, therefore, friends of those ghouls who, for example, say, in Kupiansk, tortured people, as it were, killed them and threw them into a pit. Are they responsible for this? I think so, yes. I think, yes, they are responsible for that. And one last fact in that sense, in terms of civilians. My friends, the road to the hospitable West is open to all. Now we are hitting the energy infrastructure, which means that Ukraine will face a cold hard winter ahead."