Vladimir Putin appeared adrift from reality today as he told Russians the ‘biggest pleasure and happiness is children’ as his ballistic missiles killed a nine-year-old girl and her mother in Kyiv.
The dictator addressed his people on Children’s Day in both Russia and Ukraine.
The out-of-touch 70-year-old president – believed to have a secret young family with Olympic gymnast Alina Kabaeva who he has hidden from his people – pontificated: ‘What is it, to live for yourself?
‘What does it mean? Perhaps it means to enjoy yourself, to enjoy life.
‘But it looks like those who say it don’t understand that the biggest pleasure and happiness is children.’
Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed his people on Children’s Day in both Russia and Ukraine
He spoke as a Kyiv girl was killed and thousands of children were evacuated from Belgorod region – where anti-Putin partisans backed by Ukraine carried out intense shelling.
Harrowing photos showed a grandmother collapsed in grief today after she discovered her daughter and granddaughter had been killed in the strike in Ukraine’s capital that left three dead.
Her agonised screams and wails tore through the deathly silence in the city as she saw the charred bodies of her daughter and nine-year-old granddaughter on the ground in front of her.
The barrage of cruise and ballistic missiles struck at 3am and tore through homes, a kindergarten and a medical clinic in the Ukrainian capital, leaving a scene of utter devastation.
The mother, her nine-year-old daughter and another woman were killed in the air strikes, which have been relentlessly hitting the capital for weeks. At least 12 others were injured, including one child.
Bizarrely, Putin also informed Russians about his sleeping habits as his war inflicted terror both on Ukrainians and his own people.
Harrowing photos showed a grandmother collapsed in grief today after she discovered her daughter and granddaughter had been killed in the Russian missile strike in Ukraine’s capital that left three dead
A relative sits next to the covered body of a 9-year-old girl near a health center damaged in a missile strike in Kyiv on Friday
‘Of course, like all people I sleep,’ he announced.
‘Unlike some people, you know, I try not to give up playing sports, and this helps in my work.
‘I sleep, well, in general, maybe a little, six to seven hours, six mostly.
‘Today, however, I slept much less, it happened so.’
On Tuesday it is believed he was also woken by explosions from Ukrainian drones near his high security official residence in Moscow region.
His incongruous ramblings aired today came as videos showed the Russian city of Belgorod hit by powerful explosions.
Earlier repeated shelling on blitzed Russian border town Shebekino led to mass evacuations amid fears they will lose control of a swathe of territory in his latest humiliation of the war.
The attacks meant Russians tasted the horror that Putin has inflicted on Ukrainian towns and cities for more than 15 months.
It was the most intense day of attacks on Russian territory since the start of the war deepening the failure of Putin’s war which was meant to see Ukraine crumble in less than a week.
One strike hit a plant of Monocrystal, in Shebekino.
Monocrystal is the world’s largest producer of artificial sapphires, used in the production of expensive glass for Apple smart watches.
But the premises were reportedly used by the Russian military.
The Russian Volunteer Corps claimed to be fighting on the outskirts of Shebekino.
The Free Russia Legion issued an appeal to Russian servicemen to mutiny.
‘The time has come to make the right decision,’ they said in a statement.
‘You are sent to a criminal, predatory war – but you are not slaves.
‘The Putin regime puts you before a choice: go to die in a foreign country, or undergo cannibalistic prison punishments for refusing to become an occupier.
‘We urge you to cast aside this slave paradigm and move to the side of good.’
They are urged to ‘lay down your arms and make a decision – no longer participate in this war and sit out the hostilities in Ukrainian captivity in humane conditions, under the supervision of representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross’ – or to join Russian patriots ‘who are waging a war of liberation against the Putin regime’.
A video showed Russian district administration officials in border town Shebekino burning documents amid fears the settlement will be grabbed by anti-Putin partisans backed by Ukraine.
Russians were seen queuing for petrol to escape their own region amid real signs it could be under the control of Putin foes and Ukrainians.
A female student told of ‘fear and panic’ in her blitzed Russian border town Shebekino, highlighting how Putin’s war has left residents exposed to acute danger.
The frightened and desperate unnamed 18-year-old said in a video: ‘My family has no money and no way to travel outside the town.
Medics, holding the woman’s hands, slowly led her away from the horrific scene – her face etched with utter grief and shock that her loved ones were now lying dead on the ground
A view of a residential building damaged in a Russian missile strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, on Thursday
Pictured: Russian border town Shebekino on fire. Earlier repeated shelling on Shebekino led to mass evacuations amid fears they will lose control of a swathe of territory in his latest humiliation of the war
‘I’ve been caught in the shelling more than once.
‘I’ve seen people running out of their houses, literally in their underwear to shelters, basements, or [they] just fell on the ground and hid.
‘I’ve seen mothers covering their children.
‘I saw fear and panic in people’s eyes.
‘It scares me to think that children as young as seven know what…Grad shells are.
‘This is literally destroying our children’s psyche.’
The nerves of residents are ‘shot’, she said, accusing the Russian authorities of failing to provide safety for citizens.
The technical college student pleaded: ‘I want to live like other cities in Russia.
‘Shebekino is part of Russia…
‘We are asking for help.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk