Putin: Russia had to attack Ukraine energy sites in response to Kyiv's strikes

President Vladimir Putin was quoted as saying on Thursday that Russia had been obliged to launch strikes on Ukrainian energy sites in response to Kyiv's attacks on Russian targets.

"Unfortunately, we observed a series of strikes on our energy sites recently and were obliged to respond," Russian news agencies quoted Putin as telling Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

Putin said the attacks were part of Russia's aim of "demilitarising" Ukraine as the attacks affected Kyiv's military industry. And Russia, he said, had refrained from carrying out such attacks in winter "out of humanitarian considerations".