Russia targeting civilians to try to force Ukraine to negotiate, says official
“The Russians have shifted to conducting the war in a way that aims to stoke panic in Ukraine, terrorize people, and make them pressure the government into making certain concessions to Moscow,” said Podolyak.
“What are their tactics now? On one hand, they disregard the world reaction to these barbaric cruise missile attacks on residential areas. They are forcing our people to pressure the government into saying ‘alright, we’ll make some territorial concessions.”
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He added that the Kremlin is sparing no expense in funding its lobbying groups in foreign countries, urging them to push for a way to end the war.
Besides generic anti-aircraft defenses, Ukraine needs anti-air missile defense systems to derail this new Russian approach, Podolyak said.
Moscow last week carried out a series of terror air strikes on Ukrainian cities, killing dozens of civilians.
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Russian missiles struck an apartment block in Kyiv, killing one person on June 26. Another missile hit a kindergarten, which, thankfully, was closed at the time.
Soviet-era Kh-22 anti-ship cruise missiles then targeted a mall in Kremenchuk, Poltava Oblast, leaving at least 20 people dead on June 28.
The same kind of missiles were used in the attack on resort town of Serhiivka, Odesa Oblast, killing 21 people, including a 12-year-old child, on July 1.
Residential areas and civilian infrastructure in Kharkiv and Mykolayiv remain under regular Russian artillery fire, further adding to the civilian death toll.
