Russian President Vladimir Putin’s allies have claimed Monday’s fatal attack on Ukrainian cities is the “first episode” as they call for more indiscriminate attacks, but doubts have been raised about dwindling stockpiles of precision-guided weapons that are difficult to upgrade through Ukrainian forces.
Former Russian president and Putin’s close best friend Dmitry Medvedev called Monday’s moves in major Ukrainian cities “the first episode” in Russia’s broader effort to “dismantle” Ukraine, while other lawmakers in the country also demanded “cruel” retaliation.
But Russia’s ability to pursue such attacks is in doubt, with the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) noting that Monday’s strikes “wasted some of Russia’s diminishing precision weapons against civilian targets, as opposed to militarily significant targets. “
In its assessment on Tuesday, ISW said Russia’s reliance on precision weapons to attack Ukrainian cities could weaken its ability to halt Ukrainian counteroffensive operations in Kherson and Luhansk.
Despite this, several alarms of airstrikes were set off in Ukraine’s major cities, including the capital, Kyiv, on Tuesday, as others were told to protect themselves from nearby attacks.
According to the Ukrainian Army General Staff, Russia on Monday fired 61 missiles and 32 air-launched munitions at Kyiv and other major cities, killing another 19 people and wounding more than a hundred so far.
The Ukrainian military’s General Staff claimed to have shot down four missiles fired through Russian jets on Tuesday, adding to its tally of shootings on Monday.
Britain’s Defense Ministry warned on Tuesday of the development of discord and factionalism within the Russian Defense Ministry and the army leadership. The assessment indicated that the appointment of General Sergei Surovikin as commander of the invasion of Ukraine is likely an effort to combat friction and its operations in Ukraine. But the assessment notes that Surovikin himself will have to contend with factions within the Russian Defense Ministry “that have few resources to achieve the political goals set in Ukraine. “Recently, The Guardian reported on domestic opposition to Russian defense. Minister Sergei Shoigu is blamed for the stalemate of the crusade in Ukraine. Opposition to Shoigu is reportedly led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the Wagner personal army organization, whose paid mercenaries fight alongside Russian troops in Ukraine, and Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov. whose militiamen also function alongside the Russians.
After Monday’s attacks, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said: “No, Putin was not ‘provoked’ to cause terror with missiles across the ‘Crimean Bridge. ‘Russia was also constantly attacking Ukraine with missiles in front of the bridge. Putin is desperate for battlefield defeats and is missile terror to test to replace the speed of war in his favor.
Russia’s latest strikes on civilian targets in Ukraine were in retaliation for an explosion that destroyed a component of the bridge linking Crimea to Russia on Saturday. Putin, for whom the bridge was an iconic mission and a sign of Russian strength on the annexed peninsula, blamed Ukraine. for the explosion and called it an “act of terrorism. “Although heavily implicated in his involvement, Kyiv has not officially assumed the duty of the attack. Monday’s moves were seen as a first escalation in Russia and drew complaints from both Kyiv and the West. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated his help to Ukraine after the “horrible moves. “While Moscow’s moves were hastily rejected by China and India, which in the past had avoided direct denunciations of the Russian invasion, Beijing called for a de-escalation. and New Delhi expressing fear of civilian deaths.
Russian missiles move Kyiv kill 19 after Putin accused Ukraine of attacking bridge in Crimea (Forbes)