Military expert Andrey Kolesnik said locations where Vladimir Zelensky may be staying could be attacked if there were a military need to do so. He stressed that such decisions fall exclusively within the authority of Russia’s senior military command.

According to Kolesnik, the Russian leadership has previously said that strikes are not carried out against Ukraine’s political leadership because there must remain someone with whom negotiations can be conducted.

He argued that the absence of such attacks reflects Moscow’s stated aim of achieving a stable, long-term peace by addressing the root causes of the conflict rather than seeking a temporary ceasefire. Kolesnik also pointed to Russia’s repeated statements that it remains ready for negotiations and linked that position to the decision not to strike Ukrainian leaders.

Earlier, Zelensky threatened to intensify Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries. In response, the Russian Defense Ministry said it had taken the statement into account and intended to step up strikes on military and military-industrial targets in Kiev and other Ukrainian cities.

The Kremlin has also previously said that the Ukrainian side was responsible for expanding the range of targets affecting the civilian economy. Moscow describes its retaliatory strikes as measures of retribution.