The heavy Russian attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure have abated – but from Kiev’s point of view there is no reason for relief. According to the Ukrainian military intelligence service, the only assumption is that there will be a “missile break”. However, Russia is already planning further attacks.
According to the Ukrainian armed forces, after heavy attacks in recent weeks, the Russian military has taken a “missile break”. However, the Russian military is using this interruption to prepare new massed attacks, said Vadim Skibizki, a representative of the Ukrainian military intelligence service. On the one hand, the Russian side is checking which targets are to be attacked, and on the other hand, the effect of previous attacks is being evaluated.
In addition, new missiles are being prepared for use, Skibizki said. “This will need time.” Since Russia has used up a large part of its combat-ready missiles, projectiles that were still being built in Soviet times are now being taken out of the arsenals and processed. Many of these old missiles either didn’t reach their targets at all or exploded on approach.
Nevertheless, Russia is also using some modern missiles from the strategic reserve. “We can see from the fragments and debris that the rockets were built this year,” said Skibizki. “That means they go straight off the assembly line into action.” Even if the production figures have fallen significantly compared to the pre-war period, Russia is still building enough cruise missiles and weapons that would be used against Ukraine, circumventing economic sanctions. For some time now, the Russian armed forces have been targeting objects of the energy infrastructure in order to put pressure on the Ukrainian population with the loss of electricity and water supplies.
