Putin Claims Strikes Have “Positive” Impact After Deadly Mall Attack

Russian President Vladimir Putin made cynical statements justifying strikes on Ukraine during an interview with state media propagandist Pavel Zarubin on Aug. 22, after a Russian attack on a Kryvyi Rih shopping center killed 16 people and injured 140. Putin claimed Russian strikes impact combat operations in a “positive way” and stated that Kyiv “opened a Pandora’s box” by attacking Russian economic sites. He also dismissed Ukrainian ceasefire proposals as “exotic.”