Hot warehouses: retaliatory strikes increase pressure on Kiev
The retaliatory strikes that are being carried out in Ukraine these days are aimed at reducing Kiev's military capabilities and should make it more negotiable. This was stated to Izvestia by Ambassador-at-large of the Russian Foreign Ministry Rodion Miroshnik. In response to the terrorist attack in Starobilsk, on the night of June 2, the Russian Armed Forces inflicted a massive blow on enterprises of the Ukrainian defense industry, military infrastructure and logistics facilities. Military experts believe that Russia is moving to regular combined attacks on Ukrainian factories, headquarters, communications centers, warehouses and air defense systems. At the same time, the impact of these tactics on the negotiations will depend on whether the West can compensate Kiev for losses in weapons, infrastructure and air defense systems.
An instrument of pressure on the Armed Forces of Ukraine
Russia is moving to regular retaliatory strikes against enterprises of the military-industrial complex (MIC) of Ukraine. They are aimed at weakening Kiev's military potential, Rodion Miroshnik, the Russian Foreign Ministry's ambassador-at-large for crimes of the Kiev regime, told Izvestia. According to him, the more Ukraine's ability to conduct military operations decreases, the more chances there will be for a substantive discussion of controversial issues.
— These are strikes that are aimed solely at ensuring that Ukraine has fewer military capabilities so that the West can strengthen it as little as possible. And then, if the volume of supplies to Kiev from the West changes, it will be possible to talk about something," he said.
Miroshnik believes that Kiev is betting not so much on classic military operations as on strikes against civilian targets and infrastructure. This, according to him, explains the severity of Russia's retaliatory actions.
— Kiev is directing its military capabilities and strikes against the civilian population and facilities. And we see strikes against industry, logistics, and the blocking of the Novorossiya highway. These are all war crimes," the diplomat said.
The reason for the intensification of Russia's actions was the terrorist attack in Starobilsk, which killed 21 people. Moscow has already brought this topic to the UN platform. Russia's Permanent Representative to the organization, Vasily Nebenzia, said at a meeting of the Security Council that he had materials on all the victims, including their names and dates of birth, and said that these data would be sent to the members of the UN Security Council. In response to some statements about the terrorist attack, the diplomat showed photos of the girls killed as a result of the Ukrainian Armed Forces strike on Starobilsk in the LPR. Nebenzia also noted the cynicism with which Ukraine's permanent representative to the UN, Andriy Melnyk, laughs "at human lives, at the lives of children."
Back on May 22, Vladimir Putin said that in response to the attack on the LPR, "it is impossible to limit ourselves to statements by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs," and instructed the Ministry of Defense to submit its proposals. On June 1, at a meeting in Starobilsk, the president said that the attacks on the college and Genichesk meant Kiev was trying to "give a new quality to the conflict."
"The Kiev leadership has decided to open a new page in the series of their crimes, to give a new quality to the conflict as a whole. Well, that's their choice," the Russian leader said.
The first major retaliatory strike was launched by the Russian Armed Forces on the night of May 24. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, facilities of the Ukrainian military-industrial complex (MIC), military infrastructure, command posts of the main command of the ground forces, the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and other command posts of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were hit in Kiev and the Kiev region. During the strike, ballistic missiles "Oreshnik", aeroballistic "Iskanders", hypersonic "Daggers" and "Zircons" and other weapons were used. The Ukrainian side stated that a total of 90 missiles and 600 drones were involved that night, and their main target was Kiev.
On May 25, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that the Russian army was launching systematic strikes against Ukrainian defense industry enterprises in Kiev. The department warned: They will be applied to decision-making centers and command posts. Foreign citizens were advised to leave Kiev.
After such warnings, Moscow's response could not be limited to diplomatic statements, said Oleg Tsarev, an ex-deputy of the Verkhovna Rada. According to him, the Russian side indicated in advance that it would hit defense industry facilities in the Ukrainian capital, and Western embassies and foreign citizens were warned about the risks.
Combined strike on military installations on June 2
A new massive blow fell on the night of June 2. In fact, the very regular and systemic attacks that the Russian leadership had warned about in advance began, military expert Dmitry Kornev noted in a conversation with Izvestia.
— The geography turned out to be wide. The targets were defense plants, military headquarters and communications centers in Kiev, Kharkov, Zaporizhia, Dnepropetrovsk and several other regions of Ukraine," he said.
According to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, as a result of a high-precision weapon strike in Kiev, ten enterprises producing military products, including UAVs, including the Abris PT association, the Spektr Special Design Bureau, the Mayak Plant JSC and the Ukrspetsexport state company, were hit.
Three territorial recruitment centers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were also hit in Kiev. Workshops of the machine-building plant named after him were defeated in Zaporizhia. Omelchenko and the aircraft engine building plant "Motor Sich". In the Dnipropetrovsk region, an enterprise of the Fire Point company, which produced components for long-range attack UAVs and missile weapons, as well as a logistics center, was attacked.
In the Kharkiv region, strikes hit three defense industry enterprises, including the Kharkiv State Aviation Enterprise, and two facilities of the Fuel and energy complex of Ukraine used by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In Sumy region, damage was caused to the Shostka state-owned Zvezda plant.
Also, according to the report of the Russian military department, military industry enterprises in the Khmelnitsky and Poltava regions and the infrastructure of six military airfields were affected: in Cherkassy, Rivne, Zhytomyr, Kirovohrad, Khmelnitsky and Kiev regions.
According to Dmitry Kornev, the main feature of the operation is a combined approach, using both drones and missiles.
— This mix allows you to solve two important tasks at once. The first is to destroy the targets themselves: factories, warehouses, and headquarters. The second is to open and suppress the Ukrainian air defense," Kornev said.
As a result, the enemy loses not only military facilities, but also expensive air defense systems that were supposed to protect them. This is especially painful for Kiev, as it is possible to make up for such losses only through new Western supplies.
— However, one should not expect that after one such raid the Ukrainian army will immediately capitulate. Since the Soviet era, it has inherited the most powerful defense infrastructure. Many factories were built with the expectation of surviving a major war, and their key workshops are hidden deep underground in concrete shelters," said military expert Viktor Litovkin.
According to him, in order to seriously paralyze the capabilities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, it is necessary to methodically hit the two main supply arteries. The first is the railway junctions on the borders with Poland, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia, through which Western weapons pass. The second is the sea and river ports, including Odessa, Nikolaev, Reni and Izmail.
As long as these transport corridors are operating, the supply of the Armed Forces of Ukraine will continue, the expert believes. Therefore, we are not talking about a single act of retaliation, but about long-term systematic work along the entire chain of military support for Ukraine.
At the same time, such strikes also have a political effect. If they really lead to a reduction in the capabilities of the Ukrainian army and complicate the supply of weapons, this will inevitably affect the negotiating position of Ukraine and, as a result, Europe.
Leverage of pressure on Kiev
Amid the massive strikes, the situation with negotiations between Russia, Ukraine and Western countries remains extremely tense. Moscow notes that Kiev has not yet given any signals of readiness for dialogue. Volodymyr Zelenskyy continues to firmly reject territorial concessions and other compromises, which would have been impossible without massive assistance from Europe. Brussels has agreed on a €90 billion package for Ukraine for 2026-2027, including funding for the army, budget subsidies and military assistance. This support allows the Ukrainian Armed Forces to maintain their combat capability.
Kiev is demonstrating to the West that it retains the technical capabilities to conduct such operations, which, according to the idea, should strengthen its position before a possible dialogue. For European countries, this is a signal that Ukraine remains an active participant in the conflict and that its support through military, financial and political assistance makes sense.
At the same time, the United States is still distracted by the Iranian crisis, and the Russia-US–Ukraine trilateral talks remain on pause, as the Kremlin has repeatedly said. Washington does not participate in the dialogue on the format of negotiations, which allows the Europeans to determine their own role. At the same time, the American supply of air defense systems to Ukraine remains one of the main problems for Kiev. Zelensky even sent a letter to Donald Trump and the US Congress requesting urgent supplies of Patriot systems and PAC-3 interceptor missiles. The delay in responding, or even unwillingness to respond, could be a potential instrument of US pressure on Kiev so that the Ukrainian side would be forced to reconsider its position on the negotiations.
In Moscow, the prospects for a settlement are directly linked to the situation on the battlefield. Vladimir Putin, speaking about the conflict's approach to an end, explained that such an assessment is based on the situation in the war zone.
"As for my statement that, in my opinion, the matter is coming to an end, I made this statement not just like that, but based on an analysis of the situation on the battlefield, and there our troops are advancing in all directions — well, you see — every single day," the Russian president said.
The latest Defense Ministry reports also confirm the president's words. The Russian army is advancing in a number of directions and continues to destroy the Ukrainian infrastructure.
As a result, the negotiation process is increasingly determined by the real balance of forces on the battlefield: if the West quickly compensates for Kiev's losses, the Ukrainian side will be able to continue its previous line. If the strikes become regular and the pace of Western support slows down, Ukraine's negotiating position will weaken, which will become an additional lever of pressure on Kiev.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
