Russia's intensive attacks on Ukraine's cities raise concerns
Recent massive attacks by Russia on major Ukrainian cities aim to exhaust the population and Ukraine's anti-aircraft defence, according to experts, as reported by News.ro citing AFP.
The Ukrainian government has once again requested more weapons from its Western allies.
While the Ukrainian army currently claims successful interceptions of most missiles and drones launched by Russia, these attacks have intensified in recent days, resulting in numerous casualties. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky states that Russia has deployed almost 300 missiles and over 200 explosive Shahed drones against Ukraine since December 29, 2023.
One year after Moscow's massive attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, this mid-winter campaign has targeted vital civilian installations and residential areas, according to Kiev. Moscow, as usual, asserts that it targets only military objectives. The primary focus of Russian attacks is the "defence industry," as Kiev strives to strengthen it amid decreasing Western arms deliveries, according to the British Ministry of Defense.
As Russia shifts to a war economy, the West struggles to provide the required quantity of ground-to-air missiles, which are more complex and expensive to manufacture than some drones partially constructed from civilian equipment.
Russians are now "attempting to target the military-industrial complex, companies, not the energy infrastructure, unlike last winter, but the production of weapons," explains military analyst Mykola Bielieskov from the Ukrainian Institute for Strategic Studies, according to AFP.
The goal of Russian attacks is also, as since the beginning of the war in February 2022, to undermine the morale of the population.
"Russian 'victories' on the ground are local and come at an exorbitant human cost, so Putin is trying this pressure lever again," analyses Tatiana Kastouéva-Jean from the French Institute of International Relations.
The Russian president also addresses the West, wanting to demonstrate that "support for Ukraine only prolongs the suffering of the population and turns Ukraine into a financial abyss, where costly infrastructure can be endlessly rebuilt," Tatiana Kastouéva-Jean adds.
These attacks ultimately take on a retaliatory dimension, believes Tatiana Stanovaya, the founder of R. Politik, a centre for the analysis of Russian politics. After Ukrainian attacks on the Russian city of Belgorod, causing the death of 25 people on December 30, Vladimir Putin conveyed the following message: "Ukraine cannot attack us without consequences," she says.
Facing this Russian campaign, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleba has called for the acceleration of Western deliveries of "additional air defence systems, combat drones," and "missiles with a range of over 300 kilometres."
This message has been echoed by Poland, which has urged Ukraine to be equipped with long-range missiles to counter Russian attacks.
It's worth noting that currently, Kiev is awaiting the delivery of F-16 fighter jets promised by several European countries, which can contribute to air defence with air-to-air missiles.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
