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Never since the very first days of the Russian war of aggression at the end of February have so many rockets fallen on Ukrainian cities as during the course of this morning. Never before have Russian missiles hit the center of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. According to the latest figures, the Russian army has already fired over 80 rockets into all parts of Ukraine.
Explosions were heard this morning from Dnipro, Kharkiv, Kyiv all the way west to Lviv. According to the Ukrainian armed forces, more than half of the missiles were shot down before they reached their target. But for real protection of the civilian population, the Ukrainian army needs new generation fighter jets and air defense systems.
Targeting civilians and power plants
The force with which the Russian army is trying to spread fear and terror is no coincidence: This is clearly a retaliatory action by the Russian President for the attack on the Kerch Bridge on Saturday the day before yesterday. The Russian President described the attack on the bridge as a “terrorist act” and used the attack on the bridge as a pretext to attack civilian infrastructure in all parts of Ukraine.
According to the Ukrainian President, civilians and power plants across the country were the main victims of the attacks by the Russian army today. Even if the Russian army’s missile arsenal is not large enough for such a barrage of missiles to be fired at Ukraine on a daily basis, the threatening backdrop is more than clear. This is intended to make it clear to the people of Ukraine that, despite all the advances made by the Ukrainian army on the front in the east and south of the country, they are not safe.
Attacks with calculation
The rocket attacks on the city center are also a clear threat to the Ukrainian president. The Kremlin wants to demonstrate that the Ukrainian air defense is currently unable to prevent attacks on the center of the capital. With every missile that hits, Russia is making it clear that a tactical nuclear weapon could have hit the same place.
Even if unlikely, this threat cannot be completely ignored. Even if the Russian President will not be able to break the resistance of the Ukrainians with any missiles, the more damage is done to civilian infrastructure, the harder the upcoming winter will be for everyone in the country. Increased attacks on infrastructure far from strategic and military importance seem very likely for the foreseeable future.
Because last weekend, Sergei Surovikin was appointed commander of the invading troops. The Russian army general Surovikin is known for the destruction of the Syrian city of Aleppo.