Russia does not prefer escalation, but will continue to retaliate to Ukraine’s attacks on civilians and infrastructure, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has warned.

In an interview with Izvestia published on Thursday, Zakharova accused Kiev of showing “complete unwillingness to negotiate” while stepping up terrorist attacks against Russia’s civilian population and infrastructure.

“As long as this remains the case, the Russian Armed Forces will respond proportionately to emerging threats and continue the special military operation in order to accomplish the tasks set by President Vladimir Putin,” she said.

“Escalation is not our choice,” Zakharova added, arguing that progress toward a settlement depends on Kiev and its Western backers abandoning the “dangerous illusion” of inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia.

Her remarks came as Russia and Ukraine carried out another major exchange of long-range strikes.

The Russian Defense Ministry said on Thursday that its forces had launched a large-scale missile and drone attack overnight against military-industrial facilities in and around Kiev, including plants producing long-range drones and components for cruise missiles, as well as several storage facilities housing fuel, lubricants, UAV parts, and dual-use goods.

Kiev, meanwhile, conducted another major drone raid against Russia overnight, with 726 UAVs destroyed by air defenses in 20 regions, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

Moscow has repeatedly condemned Ukrainian drone incursions, which target civilian infrastructure and residential areas inside Russia, as terrorist attacks aimed at compensating for Kiev’s setbacks on the battlefield, where Russian forces continue their steady advance.

Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged on Wednesday that Ukrainian strikes on Russian industrial facilities were causing damage but noted that they have not produced “critical consequences.”

In July, he warned that Moscow’s responses to Kiev’s attacks would be “mirror-like” and “several times more powerful.”