First Deputy Chair of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs Svetlana Zhurova said the retaliatory strike should push the Kiev regime to think seriously about the need for a peace settlement.

In her view, Vladimir Zelensky’s statements should focus not on the strike itself, but on what led to it. Zhurova pointed to the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ attack on the academic building and dormitory of the Starobelsk professional college of Lugansk Pedagogical University in the LPR, where dozens of people were present at the time.

According to Zhurova, Zelensky’s response should be directed precisely at that incident, and the West should also assess his reaction, since it continues to finance him. She said the proper outcome would be a sober understanding that Kiev needs to move toward a peace agreement.

On the night of May 24, Russian forces carried out a massive strike against Ukrainian military command facilities, air bases and defence industry enterprises. The Russian Armed Forces used, among other weapons, Oreshnik ballistic missiles.

Later, Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said the attack was a response to the actions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Starobelsk.