ISTANBUL 

Russia on Sunday dismissed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s threat to Kremlin officials that they should know “where the bomb shelters are.”

In an interview with the US-based Axios news website earlier this week, Zelenskyy said he has US President Donald Trump’s backing to strike Russian targets such as energy infrastructure and military factories, noting Kyiv will use additional long-range weaponry from Washington if it receives them.

He stressed that Ukraine would not bomb civilians because they are "not terrorists," but warned that centers of power in Russia, such as the Kremlin, were potential targets, and that Kremlin officials “have to know where the bomb shelters are.”

“Zelenskyy is trying to demonstrate to the Europeans, who will now act as his breadwinner … that he is a ‘brave warrior.’ Meanwhile, the situation on the front-lines suggests otherwise,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview with Russian journalist Pavel Zarubin, a portion of which was shared on the latter’s Telegram.

Peskov argued that the situation for Kyiv in the context of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, as well as the country’s negotiating position in peace talks, is “inexorably worsening” with each passing day.

“I think that internally they are aware of this, but they are bluffing here,” he claimed.

Responding to a question on Moscow's reaction to such a potential strike by Ukraine, Peskov said: "Our commander-in-chief, the president (Vladimir Putin), he has already spoken about this. So, it's better not to even talk about it. And everyone understands that."