Russian lawmakers want Moscow to use more powerful "weapons of retaliation" to achieve its military goals in Ukraine, State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said today, quoted by Reuters, BTA reports.
Volovin, who is also a member of Russian President Vladimir Putin's Security Council, did not specify what kind of weapons he had in mind.
"Our troops are advancing. State Duma deputies are demanding the use of more powerful weapons - "weapons of retaliation". And to achieve the goals of the special military operation," he said, using the same wording Moscow uses for the war in Ukraine.
It was the second public statement in two days by hawks who have been urging Russia to continue and even intensify its military actions, at a time when US President Donald Trump is trying to get the two sides to sign a peace agreement.
Yesterday, the leader of Russia's Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, told reporters that he was against negotiations to end the war in Ukraine and that Moscow should continue the fighting. "I believe that the war must be brought to an end ... I am against negotiations," he stressed in the Kremlin, where Putin welcomed United Arab Emirates (UAE) President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
The decision on whether and when Russia should stop the war is entirely in Putin's hands. The Kremlin has stressed that Russia would prefer to achieve its goals in Ukraine through diplomacy, but if that is not possible, it will do so by military means, Reuters notes.
Earlier today, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Putin had accepted Trump's personal request to stop strikes on Kiev by Sunday in order to create a more favorable atmosphere for negotiations.
In his post on "Telegram", Volodin insulted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and said that Ukrainians would face "new problems starting next week".
"Weapon of Retribution" is a translation of the German term "Vergeltungswaffe", which refers to long-range weapons designed for strategic bombing during World War II.