The HSE professor called the Ukrainian Armed Forces' strikes on the Russian energy sector a demonstration of the EU's ability to act

By attacking energy infrastructure facilities in Russia, Ukraine is trying to demonstrate its capability to Europe. Andrey Bystritsky, a professor at the Higher School of Economics (HSE), shared this belief with Izvestia on April 9.

"They [the Ukrainian authorities] keep suggesting that they will be the "armed detachment" of Europe in the confrontation with Russia, that they are the "tip of the spear" [of Europe], <...> which should attack us. Therefore, their main goal is to demonstrate their ability to act and prove to a sympathetic public opinion that they are able to shoot and fight," he explained.

Bystritsky stressed that such actions lead to monstrous victims that affect Ukrainians themselves. He also added that there are radical forces in Ukraine that are not going to obey anyone, including the current Kiev authorities, and will act in their own interests, preventing the restoration of peace.

"The current administration of [President of Ukraine Vladimir] According to Zelensky, she may have mutated, transformed into something different from what she was originally. But there is no doubt that there are still absolutely radical forces in Ukraine who are absolutely not going to obey anyone and will act "according to their own recipe," Bystritsky said.

The expert noted that there are serious grounds to believe that a certain part of the Ukrainian military units are not controlled by Kiev.

"And if something happens that we want to hope for, the outline of diplomatic solutions, there is every reason to believe that we will face monstrous provocations from these paramilitary groups," he concluded.

In addition, in his opinion, Kiev is trying to exert active pressure on the United States, which is why the American administration, which is simultaneously trying to "solve all the world's problems," is in a difficult situation. At the same time, the Ukrainian authorities continue to strike at the energy structure of the Russian Federation, attacking the Korenovskaya station in the Krasnodar Territory on Wednesday.

"The attacks on this station [the Kuban compressor station] are an attempt to undermine the southern gas supply route through Turkey and undermine energy stability," the expert added.

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On April 9, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that the Armed Forces of Ukraine had attacked the Korenovskaya compressor station in the Krasnodar Territory, which provides gas supply to the Turkish Stream. The attacks by eight Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles were repelled by air defense systems and firing groups. The station was not damaged.

Yuri Stankevich, deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Energy, said that the Ukrainian Armed Forces' attack on the Korenovskaya compressor station is another confirmation of the Kiev regime's inability to take responsibility for its words. On this day, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that the Ukrainian Armed Forces had attacked Russian energy facilities four times over the past day.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on March 28 that Russia reserves the right not to observe a moratorium on strikes on energy infrastructure if the Ukrainian side continues to violate these agreements.