Vladimir Putin's chilling warning raises fears of further attacks on civilians

Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine has resulted in the death of thousands of civilians and more could follow after he issued a chilling warning. Intelligence experts in the UK also believe Russia will step up its bombing of civilian targets

Ukraine's recent counter-offensive means some fear that Putin will step up his recent attacks (

Image: Getty Images)

Further grim attacks on civilians by Vladimir Putin's Russian forces are expected as Ukraine continues to try to advance its recent advance.

Putin promised a "more serious" response from his army if the Ukrainian counter-offensive continues and claimed that the main objective of the campaign is "the liberation of the entire territory of Donbass".

On Friday, he added, "We are really quite limited in our response to this at the moment. If the situation continues to develop in this way, the response will be more serious."

In its September 18 intelligence update, the Ministry of Defense (MoD) said that over the past seven days, Russia "has increased its targeting of civilian infrastructure even where it likely does not perceive no immediate military effect".