The Kremlin denied on Thursday that its attacks on Ukraine’s power grid were aimed at civilians, but said Kyiv could “end the suffering” of its people if it met Russia’s demands for a resolution to the conflict, Reuters reported.

Repeated rocket attacks on Ukraine’s electricity infrastructure in recent weeks have left millions without electricity, water or heating for hours or days as outside temperatures plunge below freezing.

But the press secretary of the Kremlin Dmytro Peskov claims that “there were no strikes on “social” objects and there are no – this aspect is given special attention.”

“As for targets that are directly or indirectly related to military potential, they are subject to strikes accordingly,” he said.

Peskov was asked how it is possible to combine the suffering of the civilian population in Ukraine with the positions of President Vladimir Putin. Putin said that Russia does not want to destroy Ukraine or its people.

“The leadership of Ukraine has every opportunity to return the situation to normal, it has every opportunity to settle the situation in such a way as to satisfy the demands of the Russian side and, as a result, to stop all possible suffering of the population. “, – the spokesman answered Putin.