Russia launches perfidious terror air strategy
Russia is attacking Ukraine with air strikes as never before. There are several intentions behind this and a clear message at the start of the year: to overwhelm the air defense systems and wear down the people in Ukraine.
The new year has barely begun when Russia is terrorizing Ukraine with massive air strikes. After a record number of 90 drones were dropped over several Ukrainian cities on New Year's Eve, another hail of missiles is now following. The capital Kiev and the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv have been hit particularly hard. Residents are desperately describing on social networks how the air raid sirens have been wailing for hours and rocket impacts can be heard.
According to the Ukrainian air force, the Russian army used a total of 99 rockets and cruise missiles of various types. Of these, 72 missiles were intercepted, including all ten Kinschal (Dagger) hypersonic missiles. Kinschal missiles have been used repeatedly in the course of the war to date. However, this is the first time that Russia has used so many at once. Because of its speed, the Russians repeatedly refer to the weapon as a miracle weapon, which was developed to overcome Western air defense systems.
Terror against the civilian population
The massive airstrikes pursue specific goals. Russia is pursuing three objectives, says Austrian Colonel Markus Reisner, who has been observing and analyzing the war in Ukraine from the very beginning. Firstly, the attacks are aimed at critical infrastructure, around 50 to 60 percent of which was already destroyed by the Russians last winter. The Ukrainians were able to repair around 10 to 15 percent. "The Russian side wants to destroy that. On top of that: Logistics, warehouses, command structures of the Ukrainian armed forces," says Reisner.
The second goal is to inflict massive terror on the civilian population. The Ukrainian air defenses manage to intercept many of the missile and drone attacks. However, the daily air raids force residents to go to the bomb shelters every night or at least sleep in the hallway - as far away from the windows as possible. Then there is the noise of the air raid sirens and the emergency services, as well as the deafening explosions. "It's extremely demoralizing," says Reisner. The missiles that make it past the air defenses cause massive destruction. Homes are destroyed, people are buried under rubble and ash. Dozens of people have lost their lives.
The third goal that Moscow is pursuing with its hail of missiles is to saturate the air defense systems supplied by the West: Russia is forcing Ukraine to use up as much ammunition as possible. And the more drones and missiles they deploy, the more difficult it will be for Ukraine to intercept them all. In order to inflict as much damage as possible, the Russians first send in drones to distract the air defenses. This is followed by cruise missiles and the Kinschal hypersonic missiles now in use. These are faster, fly lower and are therefore detected later by the air defenses. If they are not intercepted, they also cause much greater damage as they have a greater impact force than drones.
Revenge for Belgorod?
The timing of the attacks is no coincidence: just a few days ago, Russia threatened Ukraine with "retaliation" for the attacks on the Russian city of Belgorod. There, 25 people were killed in an attack with Ukrainian missiles on Saturday. Whether the people died from falling debris, their own air defenses or missiles cannot be independently verified. In any case, the Kremlin blames Kiev and has vowed revenge.
In addition, holidays such as Christmas and New Year are a perfidious way to break the morale of Ukrainians. While people all over the world welcome the New Year with renewed hope, for Ukrainians it begins with an unmistakable message from the invaders: There will be no mercy this year either. The terror is entering a new round.
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Source: www.ntv.de
