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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday that Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered his military to abandon the rules of war in its air campaign, citing intelligence including intercepted communications from Kremlin officials.
"He said there are no rules now," Zelenskyy told the Financial Times (FT) in a bomb shelter beneath a Kyiv school that had just been hit by a Russian jet-powered drone.
The Kremlin denied targeting schools or hospitals.
Zelenskyy said Putin gave the order in September, as Russia stepped up strikes on Kyiv that have hit schools, hospitals and data centers, ahead of what Ukrainian officials expect to be a harsh winter.
Zelenskyy said Moscow earlier focused largely on energy and military facilities, but its drones are now striking schools, telecommunications hubs and data centers. The attacks are intended not only to destroy infrastructure but "to pressure people," he said.
"They couldn't organize occupation, and that's why they do now the same massive attack, massive killing," Zelenskyy said in English, referring to Russia's failure to capture the Donbas.
The school's director, Valentyna Chorna, said 104 students and 60 teachers survived Thursday's strike because they reached the underground shelter before the drone hit just after 9 a.m.
"Russia's armed forces do not strike schools or hospitals," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Drone debris recovered from the school and viewed by the FT bore Russian manufacturers' markings and handwritten Russian text.
Russia is preparing to intensify attacks on Ukraine's largest cities to isolate them as winter sets in, with Kyiv, Kharkiv and Odesa the main targets, according to Zelenskyy and a Ukrainian intelligence assessment described to the FT by Ukrainian and European officials.
The western city of Lviv also features in the plan, officials said.
Ukrainian officials said Moscow intends to strike nuclear facilities to cut them off from the power grid, increasing pressure on Kyiv to accept Russia's demands in early 2027. Officials said a new refugee flow toward the EU was also part of Moscow's strategy.
Zelenskyy said Russia launched about 500 drones in the past day, around half of them jet-powered. He said Ukraine was downing about 57% of the jet drones and 85% to 90% of conventional ones.
Five interceptor drones are being tested, and Ukraine will be able to produce around 400 of one model by the end of October, he said.
"Engines are the key; we really import a lot of engines," Zelenskyy said.
He added that around half of Ukraine's U.S.-made F-16s, which have proved effective against the new drones, spend long periods in Europe for repairs.
Asked whether partners were doing all they could, Zelenskyy said: "Not enough, of course not enough."
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