{
  "id": 3927840,
  "title": "Russian Duma deputy speaker calls for leveling Ukrainian cities to force surrender",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/28/russian-duma-deputy-speaker-calls-for-leveling-ukrainian-cities-to",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-28T08:56:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "New Voice of Ukraine",
    "slug": "new-voice-of-ukraine",
    "url": "https://english.nv.ua/russian-war/russian-duma-deputy-speaker-calls-for-bombing-ukrainian-cities-to-force-surrender-50636457.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Pyotr Tolstoy, a deputy speaker in Russia's State Duma, has advocated for Russia to launch direct bombings on Ukrainian cities in an effort to demoralize the population and compel a surrender. During an August 27 appearance on the Russian propaganda talk show \"Vremya Pokazhet\" (Time will tell), Tolstoy suggested using a 24-hour warning system to evacuate the estimated 20 million inhabitants of Ukraine. He emphasized the goal of demoralizing the population to the point where they would willingly surrender, stating, \"You think we're calling for atrocities? We're calling for the public to be demoralized to the point where they'll march to meet our troops with their paws raised.\"\n\nIndependent monitoring channels have reported that other Russian lawmakers, including State Duma deputies Andrey Gurulev and Andrey Kolesnik, have made similar extreme statements in the past. They have called for relentless and merciless strikes on Ukraine. Additionally, Rodina party leader Alexei Zhuravlev has openly proposed the extermination of half of Ukraine's population. Ukrainian intelligence agencies reported on August 27 that Russia is preparing a large-scale mobilization campaign to draft 600,000 soldiers between 2026 and 2027.",
  "summary": "Pyotr Tolstoy, Deputy Speaker of the Russian State Duma, called on Russia to openly bomb Ukrainian cities to demoralize the population and force a surrender.",
  "key_points": [
    "Russian Duma deputy calls for bombing Ukrainian cities",
    "24-hour warning system suggested for population evacuation",
    "Similar extreme statements made by other Russian lawmakers"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}