Russia's Duma official: Ukraine's parliament and Zelensky's office not strike targets

Russian State Duma defense committee chair Andrei Kartapolov has stated that Ukraine's parliament and presidential office do not qualify as 'decision-making centers' that Russia has previously threatened to strike. The remark, made to the Russian government newspaper Parlamentskaya Gazeta, raises questions about what targets Moscow actually considers legitimate under its own stated doctrine.

Andrei Kartapolov, the head of the Russian State Duma's defense committee, has publicly stated that neither Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada nor President Zelensky's presidential office qualifies as a "decision-making center" — the type of target Russia has repeatedly threatened to strike in response to Western weapons use.

Kartapolov made the remarks in an interview with Parlamentskaya Gazeta, the official newspaper of the Russian government, drawing a distinction between Ukraine's legislative and executive institutions and whatever targets the Kremlin actually has in mind under its strike threat doctrine.

The statement is notable given that Russia has repeatedly invoked the threat of striking "decision-making centers" in Kyiv as a warning to Western nations supplying Ukraine with long-range weapons. The comments from a senior parliamentary official suggest ambiguity — or deliberate vagueness — within Russian political circles about what those threats actually entail.

No further clarification was offered about which institutions or locations Kartapolov does consider to meet the threshold for such strikes. The remarks are likely to fuel further debate about the credibility and scope of Russia's escalatory rhetoric as the war in Ukraine continues.