Tallinn, Oct 11: Moscow's barrage of missile strikes on cities all across Ukraine has elicited celebratory comments from Russian officials and pro-Kremlin pundits, who in recent weeks have actively criticized the Russian military for a series of embarrassing setbacks on the battlefield.

Russian nationalist commentators and state media's war correspondents lauded Monday's attack as an appropriate, and long-awaited, response to Ukraine's successful counteroffensive in the northeast and the south and a weekend attack on a key bridge between Russia and Crimea, the prized Black Sea peninsula Russia annexed in 2014.

Many argued, however, that Moscow should keep up the intensity of Monday's missile strikes in order to win the war now. Some analysts suggested that Russian President Vladimir Putin is becoming a hostage of his own supporters' views on how the campaign in Ukraine should unfold. 슬롯사이트œPutin's initiative is weakening and he is becoming more dependent on circumstances and those who are forging the victory' (in Ukraine) for him,슬롯사이트� Tatyana Stanovaya, founder of the independent R.Politik think-tank, wrote in an online commentary Monday. US President Joe Biden Pledges Advanced Air Defence Systems to Ukraine in Phone Call With Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Putin's supporters have been calling for drastic steps on the Ukraine battlefield for weeks. These calls intensified over the weekend, shortly after an explosion on the Kerch Bridge linking Crimea to Russia sent shock waves around the globe. The bridge, Europe's longest, is a prominent symbol of Russian military might and was opened by Putin himself in 2018.

슬롯사이트œAnd?슬롯사이트� Margarita Simonyan, head of the state-funded RT television, wondered on social media about Moscow's response to the attack on the bridge.

슬롯사이트œThis is one of those cases when the country needs to show we can hit back,슬롯사이트� wrote Alexander Kots, a war correspondent for Russia's popular pro-Kremlin tabloid, Komsomolskaya Pravda.

슬롯사이트œIt is time for fighting! Fiercely, even cruelly. Without looking back at whatever censures from the West,슬롯사이트� Sergei Mironov, a senior Russian lawmaker who leads the state-backed A Just Russia party tweeted Saturday. 슬롯사이트œThere won't be any bigger sanctions. They won't say any worse words. We need to do our thing. We started it 슬롯사이트� we should go till the end. There is no way back. Time to respond!슬롯사이트� US President Joe Biden Condoles Loss of Lives in Ukraine After Russia슬롯사이트™s Missile Attacks; Says Will Continue To Impose Costs on Vladimir Putin for 슬롯사이트˜Aggression슬롯사이트�.

The response came on Monday morning, with Moscow launching dozens of missiles at Ukrainian cities simultaneously, killing and wounding scores and inflicting unprecedented damage on Ukraine's critical infrastructure. The strikes, which hit 15 Ukrainian cities, most of them regional capitals, knocked out power lines, damaged railway stations and roads, and left cities without water supplies.

For the first time in months, Russian missiles exploded in the very heart of Kyiv, in dangerous proximity to government buildings. Putin said Monday the strikes were in retaliation for what he called Kyiv's 슬롯사이트œterrorist슬롯사이트� actions targeting the Kerch Bridge, and vowed a 슬롯사이트œtough슬롯사이트� and 슬롯사이트œproportionate슬롯사이트� response should Ukraine carry out further attacks that threaten Russia's security.

슬롯사이트œNo one should have any doubts about it,슬롯사이트� he said.

슬롯사이트œHere comes the response,슬롯사이트� RT's Simonyan tweeted on Monday after the attacks. 슬롯사이트œThe Crimean bridge was that very red line from the very beginning.슬롯사이트�

The strongman leader of Chechnya, a Russian region in the North Caucasus, Ramzan Kadyrov said he is now 슬롯사이트�100% happy" with how the Kremlin's 슬롯사이트œspecial military operation슬롯사이트� is going. He was among the most ardent proponents of 슬롯사이트œmore drastic measures슬롯사이트� in Ukraine, even calling for using low-yield nuclear weapons.

The Moscow-installed governor of Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, described the strikes as 슬롯사이트œgood news.슬롯사이트� The cheering by Kremlin supporters, however, came with demands for Putin and the Russian military to keep up the pace and intensity of the attacks and damage inflicted on Ukraine's infrastructure.

Aksyonov, in his statement, stressed that 슬롯사이트œhad such actions to destroy the enemy's infrastructure been taken every day, then we would have finished everything in May and the Kyiv regime would have been defeated.슬롯사이트�

슬롯사이트œI hope that now the pace of the operation will not slow down,슬롯사이트� Aksyonov wrote.

RT's top host Anton Krasovsky, after posting a video of himself dancing on a balcony in a cap with a Z on it, said in another Telegram post that the damage to Ukraine's power lines was 슬롯사이트œnot enough! Not enough!슬롯사이트�

Another state TV journalist, Andrei Medvedev, called Monday's attacks 슬롯사이트œa logical step, which not just the society has long demanded 슬롯사이트� the military situation demanded a different approach to the hostilities.슬롯사이트�

슬롯사이트œAnd so it happened. But does it change much?슬롯사이트� Medvedev, who works for Russia's state TV group VGTRK and holds a seat in the Moscow City Council, wrote on Telegram.

슬롯사이트œIf the strikes on the critical infrastructure become regular, if the strikes on railways, bridges and power plants become part of our tactics, then yes, it does change (the situation). But for now, according to (official) statements, a decision to plunge Ukraine into medieval times has not been made,슬롯사이트� Medvedev wrote.

Political analyst Stanovaya noted in a Telegram post Monday that 슬롯사이트œpowerful pressures슬롯사이트� have been on Putin 슬롯사이트œto move onto aggressive actions, massive bombings슬롯사이트� and that prompted him to act. 슬롯사이트œAs of today, one can say that Putin was persuaded to resort to a more aggressive line. And it corresponds with his understanding on the situation. But it is a slippery slope 슬롯사이트� there is no way back,슬롯사이트� Stanovaya wrote.