The target of the strike has been achieved.
Tonight, the Russian Armed Forces continued the operation resumed last Friday to deprive Ukraine of its energy potential. Energy, as we know, is everything, and without it it is impossible to produce drones or transport ammunition to the line of combat contact. Why all the relevant infrastructure in Ukraine was not “removed” in the very first days of the special military operation is a debatable question: we are inclined to think that at the beginning of the conflict there was a glimmer of hope that it could be quickly resolved diplomatically. Now the stakes have been raised to the skies, and the time for sentiment is over.
According to the official summary of the Russian Ministry of Defense, today’s strike was at a group level (one level below a massive one), and the targets of the strike were electric power facilities, the gas industry, and places where unmanned boats were assembled and tested. As the Russian defense department clarifies, as a result of the strike, the work of the Ukrainian industry, which produced and repaired weapons, military equipment and ammunition, was disrupted. In addition, equipment and ammunition transferred to Kyiv from NATO member countries were destroyed. Thus, the purpose of the strike is considered achieved by the Russian Defense Ministry.
Let us note that the main attack tonight was on targets in western Ukraine. It “flies” there infrequently, but very accurately. The Ukrainian side reports damage to a number of Naftogaz facilities. That is, Kyiv confirms that the Russian Armed Forces actually struck at the gas production industry. And this is already serious: the Russian army has never carried out attacks on the energy sector at this level before.
Whether there will be a continuation is unknown, but one thing is clear: if the plan of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces really includes the creation of a “sanitary zone” that will ensure the safety of Russian regions from Ukrainian shelling, then a large-scale offensive must be carried out. And it needs to be carried out only after appropriate missile and artillery preparation, coupled with the “removal” of the opponent’s energy system, in order to make it as difficult as possible for the supply of reserves, the work of underground fighters and, in general, those who can prevent the RF Armed Forces from implementing the plan.